Deception
by colormenikki
Summary: "When we're asleep we can do almost anything." Eames/OC with minor Arthur/Ariadne
1. Chapter 1

I have been working on this story for quite some time now and I've just gotten around to converting ALL of my stories onto my Mac and getting them into the proper format. I have a ton in the works that I'm very anxious to share with everybody! After reading the FABULOUS story by **vAmpbAbe6** I've decided to post what I have been working on. This, of course, is an Eames/OC story with, again, of course, Arthur/Ariadne pairing. I'm so excited for you all to read this and reviews are very much appreciated! On with the story :]

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Deception

_When we're asleep we can do almost anything_

Everything was silent, simple, peaceful. There was only clean, white space. Every color imaginable blended together to create the purest of them all. The temperature was cool, not unbearably cold or excruciatingly warm, just right. It was a perfect utopia.

She breathed evenly, in and out, in and out. Her eyes flitted around beneath her closed lids, imagining, creating, _living_ in the pure white space. Her legs were crossed indian style, her posture erect but relaxed.

A flittering white bird interrupted the stillness of her white world. It flew around her head, distracting her and making her brow crease. She tried to clear her mind and rid her world of the bird. She sighed, realizing it was useless and felt the familiar pull of herself coming out of meditation.

"What are you doing here?" She sighed, opening one eye and staring at her longtime friend, someone she hadn't seen in months. He smiled at the familiar sound of her accent. Manchester.

"We did it," he said simply.

"Did what?" she opened both eyes and stared at him, turning her body that sat crossed legged on the floor.

He sat down across from her and leaned towards her, almost whispering, "Inception."

She immediately slapped him on the arm with a smile and a laugh, "Don't joke with me!"

He smiled and held his hands up, "I'm not joking. We really did it."

She narrowed her eyes, "Dominic Cobb, if you are lying to me..."

"I'm not lying to you," his smile was reassuring and truthful.

She raised an eyebrow, "Who was the lucky fool?"

He passed her a file that she didn't even realize he had brought in with him. She almost scoffed at her unconscious trust for the man, how she let her guard down around those she trusted. He opened the folder for her and watched as her face registered the picture and formed a look of shock.

"Robert Fischer," she stated and then looked at him incredulously, "You performed inception on Robert Fischer."

He nodded and she continued, "_You_ were the ones that made him break up his father's company?"

Again, he nodded and waited for her ton continue. She did, standing up and walking around her studio flat, making wild hand gestures, "_You_ went into his head, levels deep probably, and planted that idea successfully? I can't believe it! You could have...do you have _any_ idea how dangerous that is?"

He laughed and defended himself as she went up to him and started beating his arm with her hand, "You could have gotten yourself killed! You...you could have gotten _Arthur_ killed!"

"How did you know Arthur was there?" He asked, disregarding her violence.

She gave him a look, "Cobb, I _know_ you."

He eyed her up, "I think he called you."

She shrugged, laughing, "That too."

"I knew you two couldn't stay away from each other."

She rolled her eyes, "He's one of my best friends Cobb, of course we stayed in touch. You know, after someone I _thought_ was one of my best friends shut me out, remember?"

Cobb grimaced, "About that..."

She held up a hand, "I understand. You lost Mal, Mal was my best friend, the sight of me induced memories and those memories interfered with you getting your job done so you could go back to your kids. I get it."

He looked genuinely relieved, "You do?"

She laid a hand over his, "I do," she said, "But I assume that since you are here, in my merry hometown, you have everything under control and are ready to resume our friendship?"

He rolled his eyes, "You make it sound like I _wanted_ to do this."

"Oh I know it's not what you wanted, it's what was...logical."

"Exactly."

She grew serious for a moment, "How is he?"

He knew exactly who she was talking about, "He's been better, but he makes it seem like he's good as new."

She placed a hand over her stomach subconsciously, but Cobb picked up on it. She stared out the window briefly and shook her head, biting her lip, "Is he happy?"

Cobb didn't even have to think about the answer, "No."

"Is that why you're here?" She asked, facing him.

He shrugged, "Part of it. But I actually have a proposition for you."

She grinned then, clapping her hands and then rubbing them together, "You know I can't resist."

"He'll be there, you know," he warned her.

"I know," she sighed, "But we can't keep running from each other forever."

He smiled at her and got up, wrapping his arms around his longtime friend. Placing a brotherly kiss on top of her head, he sighed in contentment.

"Glad to have you back, Stell."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two :] Just a note: this is an extremely character driven story and it involves many flashbacks and character interactions/emotions. There is, as always, a moving plot, but it is very important to me to write about characters in depth. I'm hoping everyone is enjoying so far, even though we're only two chapters in. Stay along for the ride!

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Arthur paced around the warehouse in impatience. He kept looking at the door every five seconds, or so it seemed to Ariadne. She watched him with confusion, questions swimming in her head.

"Who, exactly, is Cobb bringing back?" she voiced her query.

Arthur turned to her, his excited jitters not ceasing, "A friend," he thought for a moment, "one of our _best_ friends."

Ariadne raised an eyebrow, "How come he's never mentioned her?"

Arthur watched as Yusuf picked up some chemicals at his workstation, smelling them both before making a disgusted face, before he turned back to the young Architect, "Because he had to completely block her out or else he would never have seen his kids again."

She pursed her lips in question and shook her head back and forth quickly, trying to gather thoughts, "She reminded him of Mal?"

Arthur sat down next to her, his leg bouncing up and down, "She was her best friend, sister practically. Just the thought of her would bring Mal into his dreams."

Ariadne nodded in understanding, "So the only way he could keep extracting was to severe all contact with her."

"Exactly," he made a face, one that was a cross between sadness and accusation, "It didn't exactly go over well with all of us."

"You _all_ knew her?"

He nodded sadly, "We were like a big family. Losing her tore us all apart," a thought popped into his head, "Some more than others."

Ariadne shot him a confused look. He didn't elaborate any further and instead stood up and started pacing again, going back to checking the door every five seconds. She sat there, perplexed at his cryptic clue to what the team had been like in the olden days.

The door opened a few minutes later, snapping Arthur out of his pacing. Ariadne watched as a beautiful woman walked in alongside Cobb. She was strikingly beautiful, like Mal, with deep brown hair that fell in the smoothest, softest looking bouncy curls all the way down her back, sitting perfectly on her hips. Ariadne noticed that her body was the perfect, curvaceous hourglass figure that women pay good money for. She had a pleasant smile, full lips, almost like Angelina Jolie, Ariadne mused as she tilted her head at the thought.

Her eyes were what got to Ariadne the most. There were a bright vibrant green, something she thought could only be achieved through the use of colored contacts. However, this woman didn't seem to be the type to lie about her eye color. Not with the amount of knowledge that was floating around in them. They were wise, wise beyond her years to say the least. She had seen and been through a lot, Ariadne surmised. There was a very much living passion inside them, along with a hint of mischief. The younger girl stopped her profiling and got up, joining the others and Arthur, who had all but pounced on the mystery woman.

"Arthur!" She smiled once she saw him, immediately returning the hug. Ariadne picked up on her accent.

"Stell," he smiled, "It's been way too long."

Stell, Ariadne now knew her as, nodded, "_Way _too long," she shot Cobb a playful look, "Thank you."

Ariadne saw a youthfulness return to Cobb that she had never seen before as he laughed, "Hey! I _ said_ I was sorry."

"I know," she chuckled, a harmonious sound, "I just like making you feel bad."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Always with the teasing."

Ariadne listened to the exchange, staying silent. She couldn't help but notice that this mystery woman was a lot like Eames.

Cobb noticed Ariadne standing off to the side and motioned for her to come forward, "Ariadne, this is Estelle Willows, Stell, this is Ariadne, our architect."

Estelle frowned, "Where's Nash?"

Ariadne tried not to look offended but figured that she failed because Estelle immediately replied with, "Not that it's not lovely to meet you. Sometimes my thoughts come off rude. But I don't mean it. I talk before I'm done thinking I suppose."

Ariadne found herself smiling, despite earlier feeling like the woman in front of her was a bitch, "I understand. I've done it on several occasions."

"Keep it that way," Stell advised, "Doing it all the time sucks."

The two women shared a laugh and Arthur spoke, "Nash turned out to be a sneak."

Estelle widened her eyes and gasped slightly, "No. You're kidding."

"Afraid not," Cobb said sadly, "Although he is partially the reason we got the Fischer job in the first place."

"Ah," Stell said back. At that moment, Yusuf decided to make his presence known. Estelle looked at the foreign man with a warm smile, "'Ello there."

"Hi," he said, "Uhhh, Yusuf," he introduced himself nervously, obviously put off a bit by her beauty.

She smiled at his intimidation, "Honestly, I'm harmless. Estelle Willows," she extended her hand.

After introductions, the team moved to where the circle of chairs was set up, Estelle choosing to sit to Arthur's right, while Ariadne sat on his left. She felt silly, but it was almost like she was competing for Arthur's affection. After all, once Estelle had arrived, she held the Point Man's complete attention, with her stories of what she had been up to for the years that they hadn't seen each other.

"Where's Eames?" Yusuf voiced.

Cobb shifted uneasily and shot Estelle a look. Ariadne caught the flash that went through Estelle's eyes and was immediately intrigued. What was this about Eames and Estelle?

"He'll be here," Cobb answered.

"Who will be here?"

Ariadne watched the scene unfold almost in slow motion. His accented voice floated through the warehouse first. The second thing that happened was Estelle's almost inaudible gasp, then Arthur tensing his entire body, followed by Cobb's eyes going wide and Eames himself stopping in his tracks.

He felt his entire body stop moving, the smile dropping off his face. Every emotion he had ever felt, had tried to desperately lock away forever, all of a sudden came surging back into him, filling him up and spilling over. It took all of his willpower not to either fall down and pass out or run up to her and kiss her senseless. Instead, he stood stock still, his blue grey eyes locked with her vibrant green ones.

She felt her knuckles go white as she gripped her knees, a short gasp escaping her lips. Her eyes met his and it was all over. Everything she had tried so hard to suppress was creeping out of the closet, threatening to smother her. Her hand snapped up to her stomach and Eames's eyes immediately followed, the pain showing up in both their eyes, consuming them.

Arthur and Cobb exchanged looks. Arthur's asking _are you sure this was a good idea?_ and Cobb's saying _I think I underestimated the situation_. The Point Man and the Extractor both looked at their friends in front of them, the tension choking the room.

All of this happened within thirty seconds. It was quick, but sharp and painful, like ripping off a band-aid. The wound had not fully healed and was once again exposed, out in the open, vulnerable.

"Gregory," she said almost silently, not allowing her voice to be any louder. Ariadne couldn't tell if she said it in greeting or in disbelief that he was actually there. So that was his name...

"Estelle," he nodded minutely at her, his voice the same volume.

Arthur swallowed and then decided to speak and try to break the tension, "Well, now that we're all here..." he trailed off looking at Cobb.

Dom cleared his own throat and nodded, "Right. We should probably get started."

Eames and Estelle broke eye contact and looked everywhere but at each other. Eames chose to sit next to Yusuf, on the other side of the circle. Estelle sat with her eyes focused on Dom, no trace of humor or the young mirth Ariadne had first seen was left in her eyes. All that was there was pain, pain from memories and whatever had transpired between the team in the past.

Ariadne didn't know much, but she did know that she wanted to help. Badly.


	3. Chapter 3

Things are slowly being pieced together for our dear Ariadne, but not quite enough to satisfy her need to make things right. In this chapter we get down to technical business and find out exactly what our dear Estelle does for the team. Enjoy!

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The next day they regrouped, Cobb having given them time to settle into residence near the warehouse. They all gravitated towards a nearby hotel, renting rooms on the same floor. Estelle and Eames had not spoken to each other since they had muttered each other's names. They had actually barely spoken to anybody.

"Okay," Cobb said as they were all once again seated in the circle around the easel, "People have gotten wind that we have successfully performed inception."

"What kind of people?" Ariadne asked, her eyes slightly narrowed. Inception _and_ extraction was highly illegal. What circles did this kind of news travel in? And to whom?

"In this case? Important people," Dom replied, "We've been asked to perform inception on Aleksander Bartrev."

"President of Russia?" Ariadne exclaimed, "Who asked us to do this?"

Cobb eyed his team, "The United Nations."

Estelle spoke up, very quietly, "The United Nations asked us to perform inception on a member of their own organization? Why?"

"Well," Cobb said, his face scrunch a little as he recalled thoughts, "He just authorized a military movement involving nuclear warfare after the annual UN conference turned out badly last month. Apparently he and the rest of the world don't see eye to eye on weapons of mass destruction."

"How exactly does he see them?" Arthur asked.

"As a necessary means to get what you want."

Eames spoke for the first time, "So he has the classic 'take over the world' attitude? He wants everything for himself."

Estelle fought the feelings his voice evoked inside her, but it was a losing battle. She watched as Cobb nodded and replied, "Precisely."

"So the UN wants us to go in and get him to change his mind," Arthur nodded for confirmation.

"How exactly are we going to do that?" Yusuf asked.

"Very carefully," came the unison reply from Cobb, Arthur, Estelle and Eames.

Ariadne and Yusuf raised their eyebrows and she replied, "I see you have done these things before."

They all nodded and Estelle gave the younger woman a wry smile, shrugging her shoulders, "Once or twice."

"Understatement," Arthur said with a half smile.

Cobb drew them back in, "We have to be very careful with this job. We're not just planting an idea, we're essentially saving the world."

Eames clapped his hands together, "Right, well, let's get ready to play Superman then."

Cobb smirked, "Very well..."

And they were off to planning and researching, preparing themselves for a long stay in the city and spending loads of time together in the warehouse hashing out plans and perfecting every little detail. After all, they weren't just dealing with battling corporations, they were dealing with battling _countries_ that were threatening to resort to nuclear warfare.

A week later, they were all flittering around the warehouse, doing their own separate things. Ariadne was practicing building complex mazes while Arthur was busily typing away on his computer, occasionally getting phone calls from reliable sources for information. Yusuf was towards the back, in his own little makeshift laboratory, testing out chemical compounds and mixtures. Cobb was often on the phone with his children and Eames was busy gathering intel on people close to Bartrev and important figures in the UN.

Ariadne looked up from her current maze prototype and noticed Estelle sitting on a lounge chair, curled up and reading a book. Her eyes would flicker towards Eames every so often, quickly snapping back down to the pages. The same thing happened with the Forger, who was across the room in a similar lounge chair, looking at potential projection biographies, glasses over top of his eyes.

Ariadne figured she could take a little break on her mazes and dragged a nearby lounge chair over to where the still mysterious Estelle was sitting. She hadn't had much time to converse with her, the team being pretty busy doing their own preliminary preparation before they really dove into the job. She decided that now was a good time to figure a few things out.

"Hey," she greeted uneasily as she sat down, making herself comfortable in the chair.

"Good morning dear," Estelle smiled pleasantly, making a dog ear on her book page and putting it down in her lap. She gave Ariadne her full attention, "Did you need help with anything?"

"No, no," Ariadne didn't know how to put it, "Just wanted to...talk."

Estelle raised her eyebrows and shrugged her lips, "Alright, I'm up for that. A little girl time would probably be good for both of us."

Ariadne was glad she was so amicable, even though she was clearly older, probably in her late twenties or early thirties like Cobb and Eames. It was probably more so the latter seeing as she obviously had some sort of history with the englishman. Either way, she could see them both becoming quite good friends in due time, not to mention the fact that they were the only women on the team.

"Well, first, I was uh wondering what exactly you...uhhh."

"Do?" Estelle finished for her.

"Yeah, that," Ariadne blushed a little.

"Well, first and foremost I'm a doctor," at Ariadne's raised eyebrows she quickly finished, "of psychology."

"Ohhhh," both women laughed.

"Yes. But not a therapist," she made a noise of distaste, "I study human behavior, research really, and thought processes. I try to understand why people think the way they do."

"And that's what you do here?"

She shook her head, "Not exactly."

Arthur sat down, rubbing his eyes from looking at his laptop screen for so long, "She's our Deceiver," he informed her.

Ariadne looked at Estelle, "What exactly...is that?"

Estelle smiled, "Basically, I'm really good at making people think and see things that aren't real or true. I lie and bend the dream to create images that I want them to see."

Arthur continued, "No matter who is dreaming, Stell can change what they see effortlessly. It's really powerful stuff. Really valuable too. Only a handful of people can do it."

Estelle smirked and leaned in, "But I'm the best."

Ariadne laughed, "I wouldn't doubt it. I guess the psychology helps you excel at uhhh deceiving?"

Estelle nodded, "Yes. Being able to trace how people think and see patterns in their thought processes definitely helps. That and I'm a superb actress."

The three of them laugh and Arthur quipped, "But she would never lie to us."

Estelle still laughed but Ariadne could tell in her eyes that she was serious when she said, "It's true. I never lie outside of a dream or to my friends when we are inside one. And if I have to, you'll know."

Ariadne nodded, "It's so amazing that you can do all of that. Your mind has to be so resilient."

Estelle brushed fake dirt off her shoulder, "I'll admit I am amazing," and then she chuckled, rolling her eyes at herself.

Arthur chuckled and turned to Ariadne, "She can always tell she's dreaming. Doesn't even need a totem."

"You don't need a totem?" Ariadne asked, incredulously.

The Deceiver shrugged, "I just always know when I'm dreaming. I'm a very lucid dreamer normally. I do, however, carry a totem," she pinched Arthur's cheek, "Just to make wittle Arfur happy."

He swatted her hand away, "Get outta here."

She chuckled and pulled out a small purple, glittery bouncy ball and showed it to Ariadne, "Mal and I made our totems together," nostalgia washed over face, "In the dream it will stay bouncing at the same height, never bouncing away or slowing to a stop."

Ariadne looked impressed, "Clever."

Estelle smiled down at the ball before pocketing it, "I thought so."

Ariadne chanced a glance at Eames in time to see him snap his head down to his papers again. She clicked her tongue and took a deep breath, looking back to the pretty brunette across from her.

"Can I ask what happened with-"

"Another time," Estelle cut her off, "I don't mean to be rude and you have every right to know. Plus, I quite like you. But...I'm not exactly ready to talk about it," she finished quietly.

Ariadne nodded. She understood. But one day, she was going to fix this.


	4. Chapter 4

There might not be much action happening now, but I assure you that it's very important to have these chapters. And if you feel left out, don't worry. All will be explained gradually. Promise :]

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Estelle sat at her desk a few days later going over some paperwork on Bartrev. She had gathered information on his childhood, places he liked to go, places he hated, places in his past that would evoke certain feelings or memories. All of these things had to be taken into account for her part of the job. She was putting off the inevitable though, and she knew it.

"You're going to have to work with him at some point you know."

She looked up over the paper she was reading to see Dom approaching her. He pulled a chair up and scooted himself up so he could put his elbows on the desk, on the opposite side of her, so that he was facing her. She sighed and rolled her eyes at her friend's concern.

"I know, Dom. I'm just...putting it off for as long as possible," she replied.

He sighed at her, "I know. And that worries me."

She put a hand over her stomach again, "I don't know if I can do it again, Dom," she whispered.

He took one of her hands in his, "You know it wasn't either of your faults. If anything it was my fault...Mal's fault."

"Don't," she warned.

"Stell, you know it's true."

"I don't _want_ to know, Dom. I want to forget."

A single solitary tear fell down her cheek, splattering on the page below her. The ink soaked it up, becoming watery and blotchy. Dom reached over and wiped the tear stain off his friend's cheek, brotherly instincts kicking into high gear.

"But you can't forget, can you? Because you don't _really_ want to, do you? You want everything to go back to how it was, don't you? When we were all happy."

She frowned, "But I can't."

"Why?" He asked in a whisper.

"Because she's gone, Dom. My best friend is gone."

He gripped her hand tighter, "But your family is still here, Stell. _We're_ still here."

She looked up at Cobb and then her eyes traveled to Eames, "He's not though."

Cobb followed her line of vision and sighed, "Yes he is. He's in the same boat as you. He's confused, hurt, mourning."

She felt water collect in her eyes, "Me too."

"You can make it right, you know," he told her.

"I don't know..." she let go of his hands and picked up her paper again, signaling that she was finished with the conversation.

Cobb stood up and sighed, "It's all my fault, Stell, and I'm _so_ sorry."

He left her there with her memories, lost in her own subconscious.

Arthur approached Eames, file in hand, and sat down opposite from him.

"Sweetheart," Eames greeted without looking up.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Charming."

The Forger looked at him over the top of his glasses, "Have something for me?"

The Point Man handed him the file he brought with him, "Everything I've gathered so far."

Eames leafed through the information, silently reading everything over. He eventually looked back up at Arthur, "He's got a history of violence. That's good, we can run with that," he stated.

"And his sister is a chemical engineer," Arthur said, "She's got to know things about nuclear power and weaponry."

"Not to mention that his Vice President's brother was killed in an overseas military ambush. We can definitely use that."

"Yeah," Arthur nodded and then switched gears, "Listen, Eames, are you okay?"

He looked up, "Of course I'm okay, Arthur."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "You sure?"

Eames sighed, "No, but I don't want to talk about it."

"You know it wasn't your fault. Or her fault for that matter. None of it was."

"Doesn't matter," he replied gruffly, "It still happened and the pain is still there."

"It doesn't have to be."

"Who are you? Oprah?" He crossed his arms, leaning back.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "_No_, I'm a concerned friend."

"Oh, so we're friends now?" Eames joked.

Arthur sighed and got up, "Always the jokester aren't you?"

Eames grinned, "You know me too well darling."

"I know you enough to know that you're bluffing. You're in pain Eames," he said before starting to walk away, "Make it right," he called over his shoulders before walking over to Ariadne.

Eames sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He glanced over at Estelle who had her arms folded on her desk and her head resting on top of them. Her eyes were closed, she was peaceful looking. He looked to his left hand and sighed, the pain coming back in a giant wave. His heart constricted.

"I need a drink," he muttered to himself.

Arthur stood with Ariadne at her station. She had several layouts out in front of her and her face was deep in thought as she assessed the cardboard maze she held in her hands.

"You could probably add something here," Arthur pointed to a particularly open section of the maze.

"I was thinking the same thing," she smiled at him.

He helped her make adjustments to it and glanced over at Estelle, whose head was still resting on her folded arms. He looked back at Eames, who was staring at her with a mix of longing and apprehension, the memories playing over and over again in his mind.

"Something bad happened between them," Ariadne stated, abandoning the maze and staring at both of them.

Arthur noticed that it was a statement rather than a question and nodded, "Yeah. But it wasn't their fault."

Ariadne furrowed her brows, "Then why are they distant like that?"

Arthur pursed his lips, trying to think of the best way to answer her question without giving too much away. After all, it wasn't _exactly_ his story to tell. Not entirely, anyway.

"It's not really my place to say but it was a pretty traumatic time for all of us. Things just weren't the same after it," he finally decided on.

"Am I ever going to get a straight answer from any of you?"

Arthur sighed, "Someday."


	5. Chapter 5

It was a few days later when everything went down. They were all at the warehouse again, working on the job, as per usual. They were very involved in this one. Every move mattered and they all had to be precise.

Estelle got up from her desk with files in her hand and took a deep breath, and then another one, and another. She caught Arthur's eye from where he was sitting with Ariadne playing checkers and he motioned with his head that she'd be okay. Cobb gave her the same reassuring glance from his spot at his own desk, his feet propped up on top with the day's newspaper in his hands.

She walked over to him slowly, _really_ slowly. Eventually she reached him and she sat down next to him. He closed his eyes, trying to somehow teleport himself somewhere, _anywhere_ but there. Just the close proximity of her set his skin on fire, his emotions swarming like angry bees, smacking around inside of him. He chanced a glance at her and immediately wished he didn't.

She was still beautiful, gorgeous as ever. Her hair was pulled up in a sloppy ponytail, her bangs brushed to the side. She was dressed down in a pair of yoga capris and an old university tee shirt that she had cut the neckline out of. He wanted to chuckle; she always hated collars and things restricting her neck. He thought of how Arthur probably said something to her about her outfit. The old stick in the mud was always dressed to impress and he seemed to think everybody should do the same.

Estelle had a hard time controlling her emotions. One part of her wanted to freak out, throw things everywhere and scream. The other part wanted to wrap her arms around him and never let go. She was slowly falling apart and it was taking everything in her to not burst into tears.

"Hey," she whispered, fiddling with the papers she held.

"Hey," he said back, sitting up straighter in his chair. He leaned forward and clasped his hands together, resting them on his knees.

"Dom wants us to go over Bartrev's memories and acquaintances so we'll be able to...connect appropriately in the dream."

What she meant was that Eames's projections should instantly match whatever scene she made Bartrev believe he was in. She had to get all of the background right and Eames had to get his forged identity correct or else everything would be blown.

He nodded, "Smart idea."

Her bottom lip trembled as his accent filtered through her ears. He wanted to reach out and run his hands through her stray bangs, tucking them behind her ear, but he couldn't. He could only watch her lip tremble while he tried to keep his own from doing the same.

"Yeah," she said, a sob threatening to break through.

Estelle liked to think of herself as a strong woman. She always had been, before everything happened. She was happy, carefree, and very strong. Everything was so much lighter in the past. Now it was murky, every moment threatening to devour her in its blurry depths.

"So," he said, turning to her, "I've got uh, a few people that I've been uh, studying. Of course I'll need to see them in real life to be completely accurate," he was almost mumbling, not trusting himself with words.

"That's great," she said, "I've been studying his experiences. Traumatic, memorable, most dear...those types of things."

Her accent was pleasant on his ears. Both of them didn't realize it, but as she spoke they both began to play memories in accordances to the words she said. They played the same ones: traumatic, memorable, and _most_ dear.

"Perfect," he said looking at her, speaking more about her than of her progress.

Cobb, Arthur, Ariadne, and of course Yusuf were all inconspicuously watching. They were hoping for a positive outcome, _hoping_. Cobb and Arthur exchanged looks again and Ariadne was getting annoyed at their manekenesis, as she had come to call it. They did it often and it bugged the hell out of her. She didn't much care for secrets.

"Eames..." she couldn't find any more words.

He frowned, "So we're on a last name basis now, are we?"

A pained expression crossed her face, "I don't know _what_ basis we're on, or even if we're on one at all."

"Why?" He asked, trying to read her, understand what she was thinking, what she was feeling.

"Because..." she looked down at his arms, hands still folded and elbows still propped on his knees. His shirtsleeves has been rolled up to his elbows, his strong forearms visible. She smiled slightly at the gold watch he worse on his wrist, "You're wearing the watch."

He looked down at it as well and then back up at her, "I've worn it every day."

"You...you have?"

He nodded solemnly, "Of course."

Her bottom lip trembled more and she reached out tentatively, running her fingers over the shiny face and accidentally touching the skin on his wrist. Fireworks went off inside of them and Arthur raised his eyebrows from his spot next to Cobb and Ariadne.

"Even I felt that," said the young Architect.

Arthur glanced over at her, "Yeah. Amazing isn't it?"

She shook her head, "I've never seen anything like it."

Cobb kept his eyes on his two friends but replied, "That's what we all said."

Eames closed his eyes tightly, "Estelle," he sighed.

He opened his eyes in time to see tears collecting in her bright green orbs. His heart broke a little, the back of his own eyes beginning to burn. He reached out a hand but she stood up, her hand going to her stomach again.

"I'm sorry," she said, placing the files on his lap and walking out of the warehouse.

Everyone just stood still, not knowing what to do. All of a sudden, Eames thrust all of the papers off of his lap, all of them falling to the floor, splaying all over. He angrily got up, his chair scraping against the floor, and quickly walked out as well.

Cobb blinked, "I'll go after him."

Ariadne thought for a moment, "I'll go after Estelle."

She spotted her making her way to a little cafe across the street. When Ariadne had managed to reach her, she had already sat down. The younger woman sat down across from her and placed her arms folded on the table.

"I'm sorry I caused a scene," Estelle said finally.

Ariadne's forehead creased, "Don't be sorry. You made progress."

Estelle's head snapped up, "How much do you know?"

The Architect shrugged, "Not much. Nothing, actually."

The englishwoman nodded, tears beginning to spill out of her eyes, "I am so stupid."

Ariadne immediately reached over and grabbed the woman's hand, "No, you're not. Why would you say that?"

Estelle sniffled, "Because it's none of our faults and I just...I can't let go. I can't."

A waiter came over to take their order and Ariadne smiled up at him, "Tea is fine for me, please. Stell?"

She looked up, "Tea is good, thank you."

The waiter left and Ariadne patted her hand, "I'm sure you're not the only one who can't let go."

"We were just so torn apart after it all happened. Nothing was the same. We tried to go back to normal and forget that it all had happened. Start over you know? But we couldn't. Not after that."

Ariadne nodded, pretending she knew what Estelle was talking about. In reality she was more confused than ever. What the hell had happened to them before she met them all? Instead of questioning, she just let Estelle cry it all out, the two of them occasionally sipping tea while Ariadne held one of her hands. It was all she could do right then but that was okay, because that was all Estelle needed.


	6. Chapter 6

Much thanks to **Legal-Assassin-006** for the wonderful review! I hope everyone reading is enjoying so far, because I know I'm loving writing this! Enjoy chapter six :]

* * *

Cobb found Eames in his hotel room, sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He went over to his friend and sat down on the armchair across from his bed, waiting for when he was ready to speak.

"I'm sorry, Dom," he said finally.

Cobb shook his head, "No need to apologize."

He looked up and sighed, "I just can't...I don't know what to do. I want everything back, all of it, but that can't happen. I'm tired of running, tired of hurting."

"We all are, Eames," Dom told him, "We all are."

"I know," Eames said, "It just hurts so god damn much."

"I know how you feel Eames. Losing Mal was the worst pain of my life, believe me."

"I do. I do believe you," his eyes swept across the hotel room and he gave a sour laugh, "Can't tell you how many of these I've been in since it happened."

"You should see where she lives. It's not much better," Cobb replied.

Eames looked at his friend, alarmed, "What?"

"It's a little studio flat with a futon and a rug, Eames. She didn't even bother with any other furniture. She meditates every day just to shut everything out and to forget. She's just as bad as you, only she doesn't drink away the memories."

"She thinks them away," Eames nodded and then sighed, "God, I wish I could do that."

"You should be with her," Dom told him then.

"I can't," he shook his head.

Cobb stood up and made for the door, "You can't or you won't?"

Eames heard the door shut and fell backwards on the bed, sighing loudly and running his hand over his face. They just didn't understand. It _was_ his fault. It was _all_ his fault.

Ariadne spent the rest of the day with Estelle, walking around town and chatting. She found that she really liked her. Estelle as well, was quite taken with this young girl. She was understanding and very wise for her young age. She was currently telling her all about the Fischer job, something she had been dying to know since Dom had told her of it being a success.

Estelle shook her head, "Leave it to Yusuf to forget to use the loo."

Ariadne laughed, "Yeah, Eames and Arthur weren't pleased."

Estelle's face dropped at the mention of Eames and Ariadne rolled her eyes at herself, cursing her stupidity.

"I'm sorry Stell," she apologized.

"No, no," she held a hand up, "It's alright. I need to learn to stop acting like a sap whenever anybody mentions his name."

"It's really okay, Estelle..."

The woman smiled over at her and gave her a side hug, "You're too nice, you know that?"

Ariadne laughed, "So I've been told."

Estelle gave her a sly look then, "So you and Arthur?"

Ariadne sputtered a bit, "What? No, n-not even a little."

"Oh, of course not. That's why you're always hanging around each other and laughing and sending googley eyes eh?"

She scoffed, "We do not send _googley_ eyes," and then she laughed as she said it.

Estelle stood straight and cleared her throat, immitating Ariadne, "_Arthur! Stop messing up my mazes!"_

Ariadne rolled her eyes and cracked up, "Shut up," she said, lightly smacking her friend's arm.

Estelle threw an arm around her shoulders, "It's okay to like him, you know. He's my best friend. I _know_ him. You're good for him. _Really_ good for him actually."

"Really?"

She nodded, "Definitely."

The team went out for dinner that night, deciding to take a break from takeout and eating in at the warehouse. They deserved it after all. For the past month they had done nothing but straight research and planning. Cobb decided they needed the break.

They were seated at a fancy italian restaurant. Cobb, Eames, Arthur and Yusuf that is. Estelle had called Cobb and informed him that both she and Ariadne would be five minutes late.

"A clothing malfunction," Cobb had told them with an eye roll.

Arthur had laughed at this, "Women."

They all ordered drinks, Yusuf providing them with comical anecdotes to pass the time before the girls arrived. Eames sat quietly, his elbow resting on the table, his fists folded together and his chin rested on them, propped up by them. He was silently cursing Arthur and Dom for leaving the seat next to him empty _along _with the seat next to Arthur. He would bet all of his alcohol that Ariadne would sit next to Arthur and that would leave him in a predicament.

"Hey you, pick your jaw up," he heard her british lilt loud and clear, everyone at the table turning to see both girls walking in. Estelle had just reprimanded a nearby patron for drooling over her. _Typical Stell_, Eames thought. Then he looked at her and felt the air leave his lungs. The man had every right to be drooling.

She wore a shining golden dress that clung to her body, hugging every curve that the good Lord graced her with. The dress itself stopped mid thigh and was strapless, her chest more than generous enough to support it. Her collarbone stood out, shimmering with some type of glitter and her hair had been pinned over to the side with a golden flower, the curly tendrils falling over her shoulder. She was smiling and walking in a pair of strappy gold heels. She was breathtaking and Eames fell for her all over again. Just like he did every time he saw her.

Ariadne walked over and _of course_ took the seat next to Arthur. He greeted her with a smile. She was done up in a midnight blue one shouldered cocktail dress wearing shoes that Eames recognized as being a pair of Estelle's. The girls must have hit it off really well.

Estelle slowly took the seat next to Eames and smiled at the rest of the table.

"You look lovely as always Stell," Arthur told her, Cobb and Yusuf agreeing with him. Eames bit his lip. Anything he said would probably turn into word vomit.

Halfway through dinner, everyone was trying not to notice the obvious tension and they were doing a pretty good job of it.

"How are James and Phillipa?" Estelle said suddenly, nearly forgetting all about them.

She watched as Cobb's eyes lit up, "They're great!" He said with a smile, beginning to tell her everything she had missed.

He finished and said sadly, "They miss you."

Estelle offered him a smile, "I miss them too. I'll come visit after this job is over yeah?"

Dom nodded happily, "Sounds good."

They fell silent as the waiter brought out their desserts. Yusuf and Ariadne compared their dishes and Arthur stole a bite of Cobb's, the Extractor swatting his fork away before nabbing some of the Point Man's cobbler.

Estelle's arm brushed up against Eames's and they both froze, the shock of attraction causing Estelle to drop her fork. She pushed out her chair hastily and the whole table looked at her questioningly.

"Going to the loo..." she said uneasily, before making her way towards the restrooms.

Arthur gave Eames a pointed look and the Forger sighed, pushing out his own chair and following her.

"Estelle! Stell! Wait," she heard him say from behind her.

She turned to face him and he felt that familiar feeling of falling all over again. He knew she felt it too.

"What, Gregory?" She asked, trying to sound as cold as she could.

"Don't try to act cold with me Stell," he told her.

She sighed, "What do you want?"

"To talk?" He tried.

"Could have talked three years ago," she looked him in the eyes, "But you didn't."

"You left!"

"You let me!"

He sighed, exasperated, "So what? I was supposed to follow you? Why do women have to be so complicated?"

"You let Cobb push me away, Greg, then you disappeared. What the hell is that, huh?"

"I was sad, hurt, confused!"

"And you didn't think I was too? I cried for _months_ afterwards Greg, _months_. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. And worst of all," she gave him a stare that bore into his heart, "I was alone."

He felt the sting behind his eyes, "I'm so sorry, Estelle," he whispered.

Her bottom lip trembled and she let out a sob, "Me too."

By that time the team had gathered, the check paid for, and they were watching the scene play out. They watched the two simply stare at each other, the emotions flowing through them, almost visible.

"Should we do something?" Ariadne whispered to Arthur.

He leaned in somewhat, "Not just yet."

Estelle shook her head and walked away, pushing through her friends and towards the exit. Eames hung his head and Arthur actually felt sorry for him. Ariadne lightly squeezed his wrist and took off after Estelle. Cobb and Yusuf stayed back, Yusuf suggesting they all get some rest. Eames sighed sadly and drug himself towards the exit. Cobb turned to Arthur as they exited he restaurant.

"Tomorrow will either go really well or turn into a complete disaster."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven is here! Also, it is very important for me to put this out there: These characters will seem slightly out of character in these flashbacks because this is how they all were before all of the terrible, dramatic, life changing events take place. It is very important for my wonderful readers to understand that. Also, as Arthur has informed us, Mal "was lovely" before she passed away. That is why she is lovely here :] Grazie and much love! Enjoy!

* * *

"_So Dom met a Forger and an Architect?" Estelle asked her best friend._

_Mal picked up a dish that she had just washed and began drying it off, "Yes. He and Arthur found them. You know them," she chuckled, "always resourceful."_

_Estelle chuckled "Extremely."_

"_Mommy! Auntie 'Tell!" _

_Both women turned their heads at the sound of the tiny voice. A little two year old girl ambled into the kitchen, tears streaming down her face. Mal immediately leaned down and drew the girl into her arms, picking her up and swinging her around a little._

"_What's wrong honey?"_

_The little girl held up her finger for both women to see, "Papuh cut," she sniffled._

"_Aww from your coloring book?" Estelle asked, brushing some hair from her tiny face._

_She nodded, "It mean."_

_Mal shook her head, "No it's not baby. You probably just scared it by turning its pages too fast, yeah?"_

_The little girl shrugged, "Maybe."_

"_I'll get you a band-aid sweetheart," Estelle told her, disappearing to Mal and Cobb's bathroom downstairs. She grabbed a Disney Princess band-aid from the box and some Neosporin._

"_Here we got Phillie," she said, using her nickname for the little girl._

"_Pwincess!" Phillipa exclaimed._

"_Yeah sweetie," Mal smiled, "Princess."_

_After Estelle cleaned the girl up, Mal set her down and Phillipa immediately went back to the coloring book. All negative thoughts about the book gone. Both women shared a laugh at her innocence and continued drying dishes while dinner slowly cooked._

"_You're good with children Stell," Mal told her, her peculiar accent wrapped around her words._

_The englishwoman shrugged, "It's a gift I guess."_

_Mal laughed, going over to the stove and stirring around the orzo that was boiling, "It's a great gift to have."_

_Estelle leaned against the counter, "You are a great mother too, Mally," she told her friend._

_Mal placed a loving hand on her stomach that was slowly getting bigger every day, "I like being one."_

_She watched as her best friend leaned down to her stomach and poked it, "You have a great mommy do you know that? And a daddy that is going to spoil you silly and an aunt that is going to beat down all the girls that will be after you and an uncle that..." she paused, "and you have an Uncle Arthur," she finished, sending the two girls into a fit of laughter._

"_What's all of this laughing in here?" Dom smiled as he walked inside. He immediately went over to Mal and wrapped her in a hug, kissing her lightly, before bending down and placing a kiss on her baby bump, eliciting a giggle from Mal._

"_Hey Stell," Dom said, coming over and wrapping her in a hug as well, kissing her cheek._

"'_Ello Dom. Where's Arthur?"_

"_He's bring over Nash and Eames, the Architect and the Forger we met," he told her._

_Mal frowned, "I hope they like chicken cacciatore."_

_Estelle moaned, "Mally yours is the best in the entire world. If they don't like it then they are loons."_

_Mal made a pfft noise, "You and your accent."_

"_Oi! Look who's talking!" Estelle laughed._

_Dom rolled his eyes at the women and heard the front door opening at the same time he heard "Daddy!"_

"_Phillipa!" he picked up his little girl, "How are you sweetie?"_

"_Good! I colored and pwayed wif Auntie 'Tell and then I got a papuh cut but Auntie 'Tell and Mommy fixed it so I not hurted anymore."_

_Dom laughed, "That's very good. Did you thank them?"_

_Phillipa's eyes got wide and she quickly turned towards her mother and Estelle, "T'ank you!"_

_They both laughed and kissed her on either cheek._

_Arthur walked into the room and sighed in contentment, "Something smells good."_

_Estelle walked over and hugged her friend tightly. He was only two years younger than her and Mal, so they both took to him immediately. Arthur hugged her back and kissed her cheek, doing the same to Mal and ruffling Phillipa's hair._

"_Where are Eames and Nash?" Dom asked._

"_Right here darling," Eames's accent leaked into the room and Estelle immediately perked up. Arthur groaned, already tired of his jesting after spending three days getting to know the man._

_Eames and Nash walked in then and Estelle could hardly breathe. She locked eyes with Eames and Dom noticed. He chuckled to himself. It was all over now._

"'_Ello," Eames said directly to Estelle, cocking his head to the side with a smile._

_Estelle smiled back, "'Ello."_

"_English," Eames surmised._

"_Manchester," Estelle informed him._

_He looked at her, "Perfect."_

_Mal rolled her eyes and smiled, "I'm Mal, Dom's wife," she held out her hand._

"_Nash," the dark haired foreign man said, shaking her hand._

"_Eames, sweetheart. Pleasure," the attractive man to Nash's left said, also shaking her hand._

"_Estelle," she greeted, putting her hand out as well._

_Nash nodded and shook her hand and Eames did the same. However, when they shook hands they both felt a powerful shock run through them. Dom, Mal, and Arthur all shared a look. They saw it too. _

"_Wow," Arthur said, his eyebrows shooting to his forehead._

"_Yeah," Mal whispered over to him, noticing the gleam that was in both her best friend's and the englishman's eyes._

"_Well," she said louder with a slight chuckle, "I hope you all like chicken cacciatore."_

_Eames took his eyes away from the beauty in front of him, "Sounds delicious darling."_

"_Good," she looked to her husband, "Well, it's not quite done."_

_Dom took the hint and turned to the guys, "Why don't we go to the basement?"_

_Arthur looked to Eames, "There's a pool table."_

"_Ha bloody ha, Arthur," his voice trailed off as they left the room, "You beat me in one game and now you think you're King..."_

_Mal turned to her best friend, "What was that!"_

_Estelle looked down at her hand, "I have no idea."_

"_Well I do!" Mal said incredulously, "You're going to be having one of these," she lifted up her left hand with her wedding ring on it, "And one of these," she pointed to her baby bump, "By next week!"_

_A smack was heard and both women fell into another fit of laughter._

"_Yeah right!"_


	8. Chapter 8

Here is chapter eight, the chapter I am so excited for you all to finally read. This was one of my favorites to write so far. It is very emotional and powerful and will begin to show you what happened between the team in the past and why they are the way they are now. I really do hope you enjoy this one, because I'm crazy about it!

* * *

"We're going to go under to assess some of the mazes that Ariadne has come up with," Cobb told them the next day, "We'll see how well Stell can manipulate them and if they are complicated enough."

The team all nodded, laying on lounge chairs arranged in a circle, Yusuf sitting next to the big metal briefcase, ready to put them under.

"Don't go easy on me," Ariadne joked as she hooked herself up to the lead.

"We won't darling," Estelle told her with a warm smile, wincing as she hooked herself up.

"Something wrong?" the Architect asked.

"She's always hated hooking up," Arthur told her from her other side.

"Double meaning?" Yusuf wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"Be careful Yusuf," Estelle warned playfully, "One day those eyebrows are gonna blow off."

"Already happened dear," he told her, "Twice."

Estelle cracked up and then looked to Cobb, "I'm ready."

"Okay," he nodded, "Five minutes on the clock Yusuf."

And they were under.

"This is impressive," Estelle told Ariadne.

They were in a perfect replica of Kaliningrad, Bartrev's hometown. Everything was perfect, except for the endless amounts of streets, dead ends, sudden turns, and trick side alleyways.

"Thank you," Ariadne said, happy with herself.

"So we have him here," Arthur said looking around, "And we have him visiting his sister, who's home for a while after her engineering plant gets shut down for inspection."

"Correct," Cobb says, "And we make him believe the UN authorized the search."

"Wouldn't that just make him angrier?" Ariadne asked.

Estelle nodded, "Yes, but that's what we want."

"Because then we will have his sister explain nuclear power to him," Eames on instinct, finished Estelle's sentence. Ariadne tried not to grimace.

"Then Estelle will flash him subliminal childhood memories," Cobb nodded to her, "And then warp them to show his entire family in pain."

Ariadne frowned, "That's awful. Watching your family fall apart"

Eames shrugged, "That's life."

Arthur shot him a glare, "_Eames._"

Estelle frowned but said nothing. A scream permeated through the silent streets, a scream that Estelle, Eames, Cobb and Arthur knew all too well. It was a scream that they all had tried desperately to forget. Eames immediately took off running towards the sound.

"Eames, no!" Cobb screamed as he too took off.

"Gregory!" Estelle shouted in fear. She didn't want to relive this memory, but she took off too, as fast as her feet could carry her.

"What's happening?" Ariadne asked frantically, watching her friends running down the street.

"Something bad. Come on!" Arthur said, grabbing her hand and dragging her along with him.

"Eames, stop! Please! Don't do this!" Dom yelled breathlessly as he ran.

Eames didn't listen, he just kept running and running, following the screams. A panic rushing into his chest that he hadn't felt for a long time. The fear, creeping up slowly, trying to swallow him up.

"Where is he running to?" Ariadne screamed to Arthur as they ran behind the group, catching up to Estelle.

Estelle looked over at them, her face flushed from running.

"Me."

"W-" Ariadne's mouth formed the sound of the word but she couldn't speak anymore. They had arrived at a hospital, "I didn't put this here."

"No," Arthur said, "We all did."

"What?"

"By accident. We all remembered the same memory when you said 'watching your family fall apart'. When a memory becomes strong enough it can manifest itself. It's called a group memory and it's very dangerous because it can compromise everything if it's relevant enough."

"And in this case?" She asked wide eyed.

Arthur sighed, his jaw tightening before he answered her.

"It's enough to show you part of why the team is so broken."

"Eames!" Cobb kept screaming as they all followed the englishman through the hospital, "God, please stop! You know this isn't real!"

Estelle was pleading, "Don't you dare do this!" while she held her stomach and ran faster.

Eventually Eames stopped out front of the room the screaming was coming through. He stopped at the doorway and the whole team gathered around him, breathless. They watched the scene unfold in front of them.

On the bed was a younger Estelle. She was the one screaming. Her sobs of agony were devastating and Ariadne felt her stomach drop. She felt like throwing up as she watched. Dream Estelle's hands were bloody, but she didn't care. The blood had had enough time to dry on them, through the surgery she just came out of. The entire team was there, inside the room, except Yusuf of course and plus a younger Nash.

Ariadne's eyes widened at the sight of Eames, cradling Estelle in his arms as she wailed. He had silent tears running down his face and as he tried to soothe her with hushed whispers. Arthur was holding her one hand, the one farthest from Eames, and was rubbing it with his own, trying to comfort the woman, not caring about the dried blood. He wasn't crying, but the tears were threatening to spill over at the sight of his friends, his family. Cobb was in the corner, sitting on the armchair with his head in his hands. He looked like his whole world was falling apart.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he kept mumbling to himself over and over again.

A doctor was at the foot of the bed, holding Estelle's charts. He had a genuinely sad expression on his face, "We did everything we could. I'm so sorry. I truly am."

The real Estelle was standing silently by Ariadne, a stricken look on her face and one hand covering her flat stomach. She watched Dream Eames holding dream her tightly, never letting go. She watched him crying, sobbing quietly while he tried to stay strong for her. Real Arthur gathered her in a hug, but it looked like she didn't even register that anybody else was in the dream with her.

Dream Estelle glared at Dream Cobb, "How could she? How could she?"

"I don't know!" He said, tears streaming down his face, "I don't know why she did it! I didn't think it was possible!"

"Well it is!" Dream Eames snapped, "You might as well have done it your damn self!"

Dream Cobb stood up angrily, "Don't you dare say that!"

Dream Arthur let go of Dream Estelle's hand and stood in between them, "This isn't helping!"

"Nothing will help _darling_," Dream Eames snarled, "Cobb's a bloody killer."

Dream Nash sighed, tiredly, "He didn't do it and you know that."

"He might as well have! He thought of her! It was _his_ damn projection!" Dream Eames said.

"Stop! Please just fucking _stop!_" Dream Estelle gripped onto Eames tighter and started sobbing again, "My baby is gone! Gone! Not coming back!"

"Shhh, sweetheart, we'll get through this," Dream Eames tried to comfort her, smoothing her hair with his hand.

"Our baby is gone, Greg," she glared at Cobb.

"Mal killed our baby."

Suddenly, music started to fill the air. French music. The real team didn't look at each other. They just waited to wake up, for the nightmare to be over. When they did, Yusuf looked at them hopefully, but frowned when they all got up and said nothing, not even to each other.

"What happened?" Yusuf asked Ariadne.

Ariadne shook her head, "Something bad."

Eames sat up and put his fist to his mouth, pursing his lips against it. He blinked back the tears and swallowed down the bile that threatened to come up his throat. Why the hell did he make himself relive that?

Cobb clenched his jaw and looked at the team, "That shouldn't have happened."

Arthur sighed, "It was all of our faults. It was a group memory."

Cobb nodded, "I know," he turned to Estelle and Eames, "Guys, I'm so sor-"

"Don't." Estelle held up a hand, "It's fine. We're fine," tears started to leak out of her eyes, "I think."

Ariadne instantly grabbed her hand, feeling responsible for her new friend and feeling very protective over her, "Hey, hey, shhh."

Eames wished more than anything that he could be the one to comfort her, but not today. Not after what they all just witnessed.

"Let's take a break," Dom said, "Regroup after lunch."

Instead of going their separate ways they all stayed silent and still in the warehouse, all of them thinking about what they had just seen, the nightmare they had just been thrown into.


	9. Chapter 9

The end of this chapter is my favorite so far. Thank you to my lovely reviewers :] Enjoy chapter nine!

* * *

_Estelle took the lead off her wrist and smiled at her best friend. They both watched the others slowly wake up as well._

"_How'd it go?" Mal asked, rubbing her growing stomach._

"_It went well," she replied, stretching her limbs, "We got everything we needed."_

_Mal glanced around at the office building they were in. The Mark always worked late, when nobody was there. Seizing him in his office was the perfect opportunity to extract the information from him._

"_We should probably leave."_

"_I agree," Dom said, waking up fully. He placed a few drops of liquid underneath the Mark's nose and collected the metal case._

_Arthur sighed as he blinked his eye open along with Nash and Eames._

"'_Ello loves!" Estelle said cheerily, "Arthur where'd you learn to dance like that?"_

_Eames chuckled as Arthur fake glared, "Shut up."_

"_No, no," Estelle shook her hands playfully, "It was very graceful," she lightly punched him on the shoulder, "You were a regular Fred Astaire."_

_Eames laughed loudly now as they made their way out of the office and into the empty halls, onto the elevator. He slung an arm around Estelle's shoulder, "Good to know that someone enjoys teasing him as much as I do."_

_She smiled, slightly leaning into him, "It's just so fun."_

_Arthur rolled his eyes, "I'm glad."_

_Mal came up with Dom and Nash, holding her husband's hand, "Now now ladies, play nice."_

_Cobb leaned over and pressed his lips to her temple, "They're like children."_

"_Speaking of children," she said, "We should rest up for our early flight home."_

"_You're right," he told her, "Let's head to the hotel."_

_Once outside, they all looked at the yellow cabs whirling by. Estelle looked over at her friends, Eames's arm still wrapped around her, "Going our separate ways then?"_

_Dom nodded, "It's late. We'll regroup in two days back home. Sound good?"_

_She shrugged, "Alright with me."_

_Arthur and Nash hailed cabs along with Dom and Mal. They all said their goodbyes, leaving Eames and Estelle on the busy New York sidewalk._

"_Well," he said looking down at her, "When's your flight, sweetheart?"_

_She smirked, looking out onto the New York City street, "Didn't book one yet. Figured I'd sightsee a bit."_

"_Ever been here before?"_

_She shook her head, "No. Always wanted to come though."_

"_Well you're in luck then," he hailed a cab and then helped her inside, "Because I happen to be very well versed in The Big Apple."_

"_Well then," she grinned over at him, "I guess I've found my tour guide."_

"_You're in luck," he leaned in, his arm on the back of the seat behind them, "I'm the best."_

_She felt his lips brush against her earlobe and shivered. He smiled and so did she._

_Mal, Arthur, Nash, and Cobb all got out of their cabs in the same place. They stood outside of the restaurant grinning at each other._

"_Do you think it worked?" Arthur asked._

"_Knowing Stell," Mal said, "Yes, I think it did."_

"_Good plan Mrs. Cobb," Dom said, kissing his wife._

"_Why thank you Mr. Cobb."_

_Arthur fake gagged, "Let's eat before I dry heave."_

_Estelle marveled at the sight in front of her. She was looking out, high above everyone down below, at the beautiful lights of New York City._

"_This is beautiful," she said._

_Eames walked up to her and placed his arms around her so that his hands were resting on the rail in front of her. He leaned in close to her ear, "Just like you darling."_

_She smirked, "You know how to win over a lady don't you?"_

_She felt him shrug, "Dunno. You tell me. Do I?"_

_She smiled an open smile before biting her lip and turning so she leaned on the railing, facing him. He was extremely close to her as she whispered, "What do you want Mr. Eames?"_

_He leaned in closer, barely a centimeter between their lips, his forehead touching hers, "Isn't it obvious?"_

_She licked her lips, something that drove him absolutely mad, and dared to move in a little closer, "What are you going to do about it?"_

_He smiled at her, "This."_

_She felt warm, light, all of a sudden. Every fiber in her body lit up like a giant firework, starting at her toes and ending up at the top of her head, filling her all the way. The pressure of his lips on hers sent her brain into overdrive and turned his into mush. It was only the two of them at that moment, standing at the top of the Empire State Building, surrounded by people but only having eyes for each other._

_Eames had never felt anything like it in his life and neither had Estelle. It was like their lips, their hands, their bodies, were made to fit each other's. They molded perfectly. _

_He fit his arm around her back and pulled her into him, keeping the kiss sweet and soft but securing her to him, never letting go. She gently wrapped an arm around his neck, her fingers tangling themselves in his hair. Everything was perfect._

_He pulled away slowly, grins on both of their faces. Estelle was biting her lip again, still driving him mad, "You do," she said simply._

_He tilted his head, "What, love?"_

_She pulled him closer and smiled, "I said you do. You do know how to win over a lady."_

_He laughed and leaned in again._

Estelle held the cup of tea tightly in her hands. The warmth radiating from the cup was permeating through the porcelain and onto her skin. She was trying to meditate, to block out the thoughts, but she couldn't.

"Stell?"

She opened her eyes to see Ariadne in front of her, the girl who had been growing on her. The young Architect had always been there for her since they had met. She was thankful for her.

"If you are coming to ask if I am okay," Estelle said, her voice breaking, "The answer is definitely no."

Ariadne's eyes softened, "Come here," she said, and pulled her friend into a tight hug

"I miss him," Estelle confessed, "But I can't...you saw what happened."

Ariadne nodded, "I did. But I have a feeling that's not all that happened."

"It wasn't," she told her, "And soon, I'll tell you everything. I promise."

Ariadne released her and stood up, offering her her hand, "Take your time. In the meantime, we still have a job to do."

Estelle nodded and wiped her eyes, "Yeah. Let's go."

"Estelle," Ariadne called before they left.

"Yes, love?"

She shifted uncomfortably, "What was it like," she began, "being in love?"

Estelle gave her a sad smile, "You talk like it's in the past tense."

Ariadne gave her a confused look, tilting her head and opening her mouth slightly, not being able to formulate a response. Estelle gave her a sad smile, her bright green eyes filled with regret and pain.

"I still am, dear."


	10. Chapter 10

Short but sweet :] Enjoy!

* * *

After their session after lunch in the dream world went without a hitch, the team all filtered off to do their own assignments for the job. That meant more researching, maze perfecting and identity forging.

Ariadne decided to try a different tactic.

"Eames?"

She found the forger in front of his laptop, watching online videos of the Russian President and his family. He looked up at her over top of his glasses, as he normally did with people.

"Yes, love?" He said, almost tiredly. He looked exhausted actually.

"Have you been sleeping?" She inquired.

"Not really, but that's nothing new now is it? Not when dreaming is so dangerous these days."

Ariadne sighed, "Eames, what are you doing to yourself?"

"The same thing I've been doing for the past three years, my dear."

"And what's that?" She crossed her arms.

"Trying to forget."

Ariadne rubbed her eyes with her index finger and thumb, "Why can't you just fix everything?"

"Because, my dear," he said, "something so broken and painful is better left untouched," he picked up his papers again and mumbled, "You'll only get cut picking up the pieces."

She clenched her jaw together and closed her eyes tightly before opening them again, "Do you love her?"

He looked up at her sharply, "Pardon?"

She repeated herself slowly and pointedly, ".?"

He didn't even have to think.

"I never stopped."

She nodded and started walking away, towards Cobb. Quickly, she turned back to him and gave him a serious, stern look, "Prove it."

He sighed and rubbed his face before looking down at his laptop again. He caught Estelle over by the window on the other side of the warehouse and sighed again. Ariadne caught his eye and jerked her head over towards the Deceiver before turning to speak with Dom.

"Estelle," she heard his voice and closed her eyes.

"Gregory," she greeted.

"Stell, please," he sighed.

She placed a hand over her stomach, "It hurts, Greg. It still does," she said quietly, "After all these years."

He placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small red poker chip, checking to make sure it wouldn't multiply. Satisfied, he turned back to Estelle.

"It still hurts me too, love," he told her.

They remained quiet for a few minutes, staring silently out the window and down at the street below.

"Ariadne asked me what it felt like to have been in love," she said quietly, eyes staring straight ahead.

He glanced sideways at her, "And what did you tell her?"

She ran her tongue along her top teeth and took a deep breath. Her eyes connected with his in their reflections on the window.

"That I still am."

He felt his heart explode and he tried to suppress his smile. She still felt the same way. Things could be fixed. Things could be mended.

He timidly moved his hand towards hers, his pinky brushing up ever so slowly against her own. The shockwave that coursed through them both was massive. Their hands slowly molded together, neither one of them taking their eyes off their reflections in the mirror. Each finger touched, pinky, ring, middle, index, until their hands were flat against each other. After three years of being apart it still felt so right. Finally, their fingers fit inside each other, the spaces that were there seemed to have been created just for this hand hold, this pair.

Ariadne smiled widely and nudged Cobb who elbowed Arthur who smacked a hand against Yusuf who juggled with a chemical in a glass tube after being startled. The team broke out into smiles but said nothing, content with watching their friends finding their happiness again.

Estelle and Eames broke eye contact, switching to staring down at the scenery below them. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back just as strong. Eames smiled and leaned slightly towards her.

"I still am too."


	11. Chapter 11

Very special thanks go to** amigonelaurax **and **BlackxValentine** for their lovely reviews :] And of course an enormous thanks to **Legal-Assassin-006** for her continuous support and faithful reviews! I am so grateful! Another flashback for you dearies. I know that last chapter was adorable and lovey at the end but Eames and our dear Estelle have a long way to go! Enjoy chapter eleven!

* * *

"_Wow Mally, you made that look easy."_

"_I hate you."_

"_That's a lie, love, and you know it."_

_Mal set her head back down on the hospital pillow, "Fine. I dislike you a lot right now."_

_Estelle pursed her lips and laughed with the rest of the room. She felt an arm snake around her waist and smiled, leaning backwards to kiss the underside of the person's chin._

"_How'd you know it was me?" Eames asked._

_She shrugged, "I know you."_

_Arthur rolled his eyes at the two, "Two lovesick couples is way more than I can handle."_

"_Stick in the mud," Eames mumbled._

_Cobb laughed and shifted the bundle in his arms, "Now now, Eames. Don't want my little guy to grow up with your mouth, do we?"_

_The englishman laughed and motioned to the room, "With a family like this I'd say he's already doomed."_

_Mal groaned, "Don't saaaaay that!"_

_Estelle chuckled and brushed her best friend's hair from her face, "You know we're going to spoil James rotten just like we did with Phillipa."_

_Mal smiled, "I know, I know. Ugh, I am so tired."_

"_You? Tired?" Estelle playfully scoffed, "You were in labor for twenty minutes! You should be doing jumping jacks by now! Some women are in labor for two bloody days!"_

_Mal groaned sleepily, "Too bad for them."_

"_Want to hold him, Stell?" Cobb asked._

_Estelle smiled, "Of course."_

_He passed the blue bundle to his friend and marveled at how well she handled him. Of course, she had done the same with Phillipa as well. She was just meant to be a mother. Cobb watched Eames smile over at her and then look down at James inside the blanket. He stuck out his index finger and Dom watched as his son's tiny little hands reached out to grab it. Mal smiled widely and motioned for her husband to lean in closer._

"_They are going to make amazing parents," she whispered to him._

_He nodded and kissed her temple, "That they are, Mal. That they are."_

_They both watched as Estelle and Eames interacted with baby James. It was amazing to see. They both handled a baby so incredibly well. Mal could hardly contain her excitement at the thought of her best friend being pregnant._

"_He's so cute," Estelle said, looking down at the baby boy in her arms._

_Eames cocked his head, "Kind of looks like Dom though."_

_She scrunched her nose up and mock whispered, "I guess not _that_ cute."_

_Dom rolled his eyes, "I heard that."_

_Estelle faked surprise, "Did you now?"_

_Nash chuckled from beside Arthur and said, "They make a fine pair don't they?"_

_Arthur smiled and nodded, "As much as it pains me to say it, Eames is good for her."_

"_Nah mate," Eames said, throwing an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder and hugging her close, "She's good for me."_

_Mal squealed and clapped her hands, "So adorable! But before you two start snogging, can I have my baby back?"_

_Estelle rolled her eyes and laughed, handing her James, "Only because you asked so nicely."_

_Later that night, when everyone had returned home, Eames and Estelle were lying in Estelle's bed. She was drawing little designs on his bare chest absentmindedly._

"_Darling, if you keep doing that you will put me to sleep."_

_She looked up at him and smirked, "Do I bore you now?"_

_He laughed, "No, it's just very soothing," he leaned down and kissed her, "Like doing that is."_

_She smiled and rested her head on his chest, "I like this."_

"_What, love?"_

_She waved her hand around in the air lazily, "This. All of this. Me, you, our friends. Everything."_

_His hold around her tightened, "Me too, Stell."_

_She planted a sweet little kiss on his chest, "I could stay here forever."_

_He smiled into her hair, "Then do it."_

_She chuckled, "We'd have to get up eventually."_

"_Nahh," he said, "We can just become one with the bed."_

_She burst into laughter, "That's silly."_

_She felt him shrug, "It would work for me."_

"_Being with you works for me," she told him._

_He kissed the top of her head again and tilted her head up so that she was looking up at him, their eyes connecting. She smiled and shifted herself so that she was directly across from him, their noses touching. He gently brushed some hair out of her face and kissed the tip of her nose._

"_I love you," he told her._

_Water swelled up in her eyes. She couldn't remember ever being happier than at that moment. She kissed him back with all the love and passion inside of her and smiled into it like a love drunk teenager. They pulled away grinning._

"_I love you too."_

_They both smiled at each other stupidly as she rolled on top of him._


	12. Chapter 12

Your reviews are wonderful! I love them all and they make me smile. I'm so glad you are enjoying this because I am having a blast writing it! Thank you to **Lauren James,** a new reviewer :] I hope you all enjoy chapter twelve even though there isn't much of our gang in it. It's important though, promise! Also, I did not translate the dialogue into Russian because I saw no point. The only thing that would matter to you all would be the English translation I'd put in parenthesis so, I chose not to do that. Nonetheless, I (again) hope you all enjoy :]

* * *

Aleksander slammed his hand down on his desk. The desk was a beautiful cherry oak, with a shining finish, and intricate designs carved into the legs and around the top. It had been a gift from the President of Italy. At this point, Aleksander wished he could burn it until it was nothing more than ash.

"Sir?" His timid secretary asked from her place next to the desk. She spoke the Russian in a shaky voice, afraid of the angered president.

"They are threatening to kick me out of the United Nations. Those bastards," he snarled, "Who do they think they are? Without Russia they are nothing!"

"It is a poor move sir, I agree," his secretary nodded.

He ignored and stared straight, "Get Yolena on the line."

The secretary nodded and immediately dialed the phone number for him. He waited impatiently, tapping his foot and glaring down at the cherry oak. She slipped the phone into his hand and he snatched it away, almost slamming it against his own ear.

"_Hello?"_

He grunted, "Yolena."

"_Big brother!" _he could hear the smile on the other line but he was in no mood for pleasantries, "_How are you?"_

"No time for chit chat _baby sister_," she rolled her eyes on the other end, "I need you to do something for me."

He heard her sigh, "_Okay. Within reason."_

"No. You will do _whatever_ I ask."

"_Excuse me? No I will not."_

He fumed, "I am your PRESIDENT. You _will_ obey anything and _everything_ I tell you!"

"_It doesn't work like that when you are speaking to your family."_

He ripped up what was probably an important document in anger. His secretary scrambled to pick it up and unfold it, smoothing it out as best she could before placing it back on his desk. He crumbled it up again and his secretary restrained herself from rolling her eyes.

"Yolena," he growled.

She sighed, "_What do you want me to do?"_

He cleared his throat, "The United States, Italy, and France are having a little meeting in Rome in two months. Presumably, they will be talking about me," he made a noise of disgust at this, "about Russia. I do not approve."

"_Of course you wouldn't."_

He ignored her, "I'm sending my Minister of Defense over to you."

"_Anton? That guy is corrupt as they come Aleks."_

She could hear his grin, "I know. That is why I like him."

He heard her growl, "_Big brother you will not do this."_

"Oh yes, _baby sister_, I will. Aleksander Bartrev will not stand to be humiliated in front of the rest of the world."

"_I think you're blowing this a little out of propor-_"

"Silence!" he boomed, "You will do as I say or I will not hesitate to take actions of my own!"

"_I'm sorry big brother, but you are making a mistake. I will not do anything you say. Especially when you are mad. Call me back when you've calmed down. I'm going."_

"No!"

The force of his voice actually shook his sister and prompted her to stay on the line. Aleksander was dangerous when he was angry; she knew from experience. Not many have bad blood with him because they don't survive long enough to talk about it. Her brother was tolerated because he is extremely powerful and persuasive. When he's not angry, he's an amazing leader. However, the littlest things set him off. Yolena marveled at how he was even elected to presidency.

"_I'm here."_

"Good," he stated, "Will you listen now?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing that there was no way she could disobey her brother and expect to keep her life, "_What do you want me to do?"_

He smiled evilly, his secretary close to tears, "I want you to drop an atomic bomb on Rome when the three powers are meeting."

Yolena tried to suppress her gasp and whispered, "_I have a feeling that is not all you wish for me to do."_

He smirked, "Good job. I _also_ want you to make it look like China dropped it."

She closed her eyes tightly and wished she could disintegrate on spot. Anything would be better than having to do what he asked. How could he expect her to do that? It was against everything she knew and moralized.

She choked back a sob, "_Why?"_

"Because _little one_," he told her, "The United Nations humiliated me. Now, they must pay."

Somewhere in a little shack, a man sat with big headphones on his head and several computer screens in front of him. He raised his eyebrows in shock and felt his heart begin to beat wildly. Quickly, he linked up the flash-drive that had been tapping Aleksander's phone and prepared to transfer the information. Before he did that, he picked up his cell phone and dialed.

The person on the other line picked up after three rings, "_Hello?"_

"I have something you're definitely going to want to hear."

"_Alright, send it over."_

The man clicked a few things and hit a few buttons before the file transferred, "It's a secure transfer so you're going to have to do that thing I taught you back in the day."

He heard a few keys clicking, _"Okay, no problem...I'm in._"

Bouncing his leg in anticipations and a little bit of fear, the man waited for his friend's reaction.

"_Oh...oh no..this isn't good at all._"

The man smiled half heartedly, trying to make light of the situation, "Changes things a bit doesn't it?"

"_It changes everything."_

"Sorry," the man apologized, "Just...doing my job."

"_No, it's fine. Helpful actually. Call me if you get anything else okay?"_

"You got it," and the line disconnected.

Arthur hung up the phone and turned to Cobb and the team with an expression of slight panic on his normally straight face.

"We have a problem."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen :] A very emotional chapter if I do say so myself. This is very heart wrenching but I love it. It shows the true demons are characters are facing. I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Estelle was in her perfect white utopia again. She was feeling the cool, comforting breeze and smelling the fresh, clean air. Everything was beautiful, calm, serene. She breathed in an out, in and out, her body staying at a perfect equilibrium.

She thought over everything that had happened in the past few days. The images played like a movie in her mind as she breathed.

The dilemma the team faced on whether they should alert the United Nations or not. The division of the team: Dom and Yusuf voting no while everyone else voted yes. Dom walking out, enraged. Eames becoming distant. Estelle, herself, feeling her insecurities creeping up faster the more she let her guard down near Eames. Ariadne secretly giving her disappearing looks while trying to be a good friend. Arthur and Eames fighting more because of the thick tension surrounding the team. The team falling apart.

The team falling part _more_.

Estelle's eyebrows wrinkled and her white world started to blur. The edges started to fade to grey, the color slowly seeping into the middle, swallowing the pure white space. She tried to escape but something held her mind inside, kept her there.

On the outside, her eyebrows were creased severely, a pained look on her face. Her hands were clenched on her knees as she sat crossed legged on the floor. She wasn't struggling, she could barely move at all, but she was shaking. Her bottom lip was trembling, the bright green eyes behind her lids moving around rapidly.

Inside the growing nightmare, everything was grey now. She didn't know what was going on. The stress that had been weighing her down for so long, so many long depressing years, was subduing her, trapping her. Estelle tried to scream out, but she couldn't make a sound.

"Mommy?"

She heard the call from somewhere outside of the grey room. Her stomach dropped and every maternal instinct a woman could have came to life, activating inside of her.

"Mommy!"

Quickly, she got up and ran towards the door, trying desperately to wrench it open. It wouldn't budge. She pulled and pulled and slammed her body against the grey metal. No matter how hard she tried, her body slowly losing energy, the door wouldn't open.

Estelle was close to tears. The persistent cries of "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" were ringing in her head. Nothing mattered to her more than getting to her baby.

She banged on the door, her knuckles beginning to bleed and bruise. Tears managed to slip down her cheeks, her vision blurring, her eyes burning. She tried to call out again but couldn't find her voice.

"Mommy, _please!_"

Finally, the door flew open, almost knocking her backwards. She ran out faster than she had ever run before, following the sound of her baby's voice.

Estelle ran down several grey corridors, all twisting and turning. She was still crying, the tears rolling down her cheeks and splattering onto the grey floors below. Her heart was beating fast while simultaneously breaking with each cry she heard.

The cries were getting closer,_ louder_, "Mommy! Mommy!"

Eventually, she came up to a door, her breathing labored and heavy. She opened the door with such force that she thought it would fly off the hinges. Once it was opened, she wanted nothing more than to slam it shut.

She saw Dom slumped in the hospital chair first, then Nash standing with his arms folded around himself, followed by Arthur gripping thin air, and finally Eames. He was weeping openly, staring down at a blank hospital bed.

Estelle felt her organs drop. Her shoulders slumped and her knees buckled. Bile rose in her throat and she shook her head back and forth, a panicked, pained expression on her face.

She felt a wetness between her legs. It was warm and dripping and a burning feeling was shooting through her abdomen. She doubled over in pain and leaned an arm against the doorframe, a sharp gasp escaping her lips. She reached her hand down and when she brought it back up, she saw that it was covered in blood.

Her legs started walking then, seeming to have a mind of their own. She tried to fight it but no matter how hard she fought, they still propelled her forward, towards the hospital bed.

Her arms reached out and her body began acting on its own accord. She could only control her eyes. The green orbs watched frantically as her legs swung up over the bed and her arms propped her body up. They flicked over to Eames as he wrapped his arms around her and cried, trying to soothe her as he stroked her hair.

Estelle felt her heart break into tiny little pieces, _more_ tiny than it was already broken into. She started sobbing hard now, burying her face in his embrace. For the first time in three years, she screamed and cried and gripped her lover tightly.

"Estelle!"

She cried harder.

"_Estelle!_"

She buried her head further into Eames's chest.

"ESTELLE!"

Her eyes snapped open and she was back in her hotel room. Her cheeks were wet with tears, as were her clothes. The palms of her hands were bleeding from her nails digging into them so hard while she clenched her fists. Every muscle in her body was sore from being so tense and her chest was aching.

Estelle slowly looked up and saw Eames standing in her hotel room, concern wrapped around all of his strong, masculine features. He watched the saddest expression he had ever seen crawl onto her face, her mouth dropping open with unspoken thoughts. He saw his beautiful, wise, strong Estelle, the love of his life, the fabric of his very being. He saw her broken, every piece of her shattered.

For the first time in his life, he saw Estelle completely helpless.

When she looked at him, his heart constricted. She was so lost, her eyes showing everything. He didn't know what to do, seeing her so broken, sitting there on the floor looking completely alone. She whimpered and it was all over for him.

"Eames," her voice broke and she let out a strangled sob.

He rushed over to her then, dropping to the ground and gathering her in his arms. His legs came out from under him as he just held her, both of them sitting on the floor as he rocked them back and forth. Eames buried his face in her hair, smelling the familiarity. Everything he could ever want was lying in his arms right now. He held her tightly as she cried and cried.

Eventually, she cried herself to sleep and Eames gently lifted her up and carried her to her bed. He tucked her in and stared down at her, thanking the heavens that her expression was peaceful and calm. He only hoped that her dreams were better than whatever nightmare she had been trapped in earlier. A pain gripped his heart as he stared down at her and he winced. Slowly, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead before exiting the room.

Eames made his way down the hall to his room and shut the door quietly. He leaned against it and put both of his hands in his hair, shaking his head. When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with tears. He swallowed and slowly took out his wallet, taking an old tattered photo from inside it.

The black and white fuzz and lines and shapes meant so much to him. It was everything he had wanted and something he would never have. His unborn child, the one they lost, the one that gave them both so much pain it was inconceivable. Eames slowly lowered himself to the ground beneath his door and stared at the picture that he always carried with him. He felt the same overwhelming sense of grief he always felt but this time it was ten times worse.

He thought of Estelle, his only reason for breathing. She was what made everything _make sense_. Without her, he was nothing, just a body without a soul. _Nothing._ And losing her was the worst pain of his life.

He felt the burning sensation build up behind his eyes as he stared down at the picture of what never was, or once was but only for a short while before fate decided that the both of them didn't deserve happiness. A sadness gripped him as he sat there on the floor, his legs sprawled out in front of him, his shoulders slumped. His shoulders then began to heave and his stomach constricted. For the first time in a long time, Eames felt completely helpless.

For the first time in a long time, Eames began to cry.


	14. Chapter 14

I'm terribly sorry for the wait everybody! My weekend was pretty jam-packed and I've just gotten around to not being swamped with assignments. So _finally_, chapter fourteen is here!

Also, I want to thank every single wonderful, amazing, fantastic person who has added **Deception **to his/her favorite stories list. That has made me so immensely happy that I can't even begin to describe it. And to everyone who has been reviewing, thank you as well! Your reviews mean the world to me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Very fluffy and cute! Estelle is quite a lucky girl. Cheers!

* * *

"_This is better than television," Estelle laughed, staring out the window._

_Mal cracked up next to her and nodded, "Agreed. There is no way that any of them could ever be carpenters."_

_Estelle tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, "I didn't know Arthur could bend like that."_

_They were both in the kitchen at Mal and Dom's house watching the men outside trying to set up an elaborate jungle gym for James and Phillipa. There was a lot of cursing, scratches, bruises, and teasing. The teasing came mainly from Eames and was directed at Arthur, of course._

_Nash was sitting with his legs spread apart and the instructions sprawled out across his lap. He looked completely helpless and confused. Dom was standing with his hands on his hips and was kicking a piece of the set in anger. Arthur was trying to use a screwdriver on two pieces he was holding but was being annoyed by Eames who was poking him in the back with a rung from the monkey cars. In return, the Point Man had extended his arm backwards so that he could swat at the Forger._

_Mal smiled, "They look adorable when they're confused."_

_Estelle nodded distractedly, staring at her boyfriend as he reached up and stretched. His shirt rode up enough to expose him stomach, the muscles of his abdomen contracting and flexing as he moved his arms and leaned from side to side. She felt like drooling, wondering how she ever got so lucky._

_Mal gave her a sideways glance, arching her eyebrow, "Some more then others I suppose..."_

"_Hmmm?" Estelle lazily looked over at her best friend with a dopey smile on her face._

_Mal rolled her eyes with a smile, "You are in so deep Stell."_

_Estelle smiled widely at her, "I know. And you know what? I don't even mind one bit."_

_The doorbell rang, the delivery man arriving with the three pizzas they ordered. Mal paid and came back into the kitchen holding them. James and Phillipa ran in screaming "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" and Estelle laughed while giving them both slices._

"_You guys were made for each other," Mal said, referring to their earlier conversation._

_Estelle smiled and looked back out the window at Eames. He looked back at her and smiled. It was the special smile that he gave to only her, to show her how much he loved her and how special she was to him. Estelle blushed and then smirked. She held a finger up to her lips and held up a pizza box. Eames's eyes widened at the sight of food and he glanced sneakily around at his friends. Once he was satisfied that they hadn't seen, he spoke up._

"_Be right back lads. Have to use the loo," he told them. They grunted in reply, still trying to put up the damn jungle gym, and he took off in a casual but quick walk._

_Once inside, he grabbed Estelle by the waist and spun her around, "You cheeky devil!"_

_She laughed and put her hands on his cheeks, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips, "Thought you'd want first pick."_

_He nuzzled her nose with his, "I knew there was a reason I fell for you."_

_She rolled her eyes with a smile, "Ah, the truth finally comes out."_

"_You know what they say love," he picked up a piece of pizza and bit into it, talking with his mouth full, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."_

_Mal lightly slapped him upside the head, "Manners, Eames, manners."_

_He laughed, "Sorry Mal," he said like a small child apologizing to his mother._

_Moments later there was a crash, a scream from Arthur and then a chorus of "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!". Estelle looked around for James and Phillipa but began cracking up when she realized it was her supposedly mature friends running in from outside._

"_Eames! You english sneak!" Dom exclaimed, coming in and taking a piece of well deserved pizza._

_Arthur walked in holding his head, "Yeah, thanks for telling us."_

"_Oh you sourpuss," Eames told him, "You found out eventually didn't you?"_

_Arthur rolled his eyes and handed Nash a slice before getting himself one._

"_Besides," Eames said, "It was Stell's idea."_

_Dom threw Estelle a fake betrayed look and Estelle glared at Eames. Mal tried not to laugh so she shoved her slice into her mouth but somehow still managed to make it look ridiculously graceful and elegant._

"_You're sleeping on the couch tonight," Estelle told her boyfriend._

_The whole room cracked up as the friends continued to eat lunch together._

_Later, everyone was outside admiring the (finally) finished jungle gym. James and Phillipa were having a blast as well as Mal and Dom, who were feeling young again as they played with their children. Arthur and Nash were playing some sort of card game on the picnic table outside. _

_Estelle watched from inside the kitchen. She had gone in to grab a drink of water and found herself watching the scene with a far away look on her face. A funny feeling emerged in her stomach as she saw Mal and Dom with their kids. She thought of her future and couldn't picture it without Eames in it. At that moment, she knew she wanted a family with him._

_Eames found her at the window, smiling goofily and holding her stomach. He approached her quietly and snaked his arms around her waist, resting his chin of her shoulder. He felt her smile and put her hands on his arms. At that moment he realized that this was his favorite place to be, anywhere with his Estelle._

"'_Ello beautiful," he softly kissed her cheek._

_She turned her head and caught his lips with hers, ""Ello handsome," another kiss, "wonderful," another, "amazing," and another, "perfect."_

_He raised his eyebrows in amusement, "Not that I don't love the compliments darling, but I'm wondering, what's gotten into you?"_

_She smiled and looked back out the window, "What do you mean?"_

"_Well, I come in to find you staring out the window like a lovesick teenager and now you're complimenting me like I'm the best thing since sliced bread."_

_She shrugged, "To me, you are."_

_He kissed her temple, "Thanks sweetheart, but I believe you take that title."_

_She turned in his arms, "Do you want a family with me Eames?"_

_He blinked, caught off guard by her seriousness and abruptness, "W-what?"_

_She bit her lip and put a hand on his cheek, "Do you want to have a family with me? You know, in the future?"_

_He felt his breathing quicken and his stomach flipped around. Every emotion he felt for the woman in his arms increased tenfold. Hell, he felt like crying he was so happy. Instead of answering her, he crashed his lips down onto hers in a searing kiss. When they pulled apart she stared at him._

"_Correct me if I'm wrong," she told him, "But normally that means yes."_

"_Darling," he began, "I want more than a family with you."_

_She looked at him confused and he felt nervous all of a sudden. He noticed Mal had made everyone stop what they were doing outside. Eames wasn't sure if Estelle knew that everyone was watching but he really didn't care. All that mattered to him was the gorgeous, breathtaking woman who stole his whole heart and soul and very being away._

"_I want more than a family with you Estelle. I want a future with you," he told her softly, closing the gap between them until their faces were almost touching, "I want a lifetime with you, an eternity, a forever, the whole nine yards."_

_Estelle felt the back of her eyes burn as he continued, his hand cupping her cheek as he pressed his forehead to hers, "You're my whole world Estelle, and I want to be with you for as long as humanly possibly."_

_She sniffed a little, "Forever," she told him, "You can have me for forever."_

_He back up and nervously wrung out his wrists before bending down and dropping to one knee. Estelle vaguely heard Mal squeal loudly from outside. All she was focused on was the man in front of her, the love of her life. He never took his eyes off of her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black box. She felt her knees start to shake and both of her hands flew up to her mouth, the reflexive action that any woman would take._

"_Estelle," he said, "Baby," he shook his head as he spoke, "my beautiful, wonderful, gorgeous, amazing, baby," he opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring and then smiled up at her and whispered in his strong, raspy voice, "Marry me?"_

_She whimpered as the tears started to pour down her cheeks and nodded profusely before dropping to the ground and tackling him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist as they fell over onto the floor, laughing and kissing and crying (Estelle was crying, actually). He leaned up with her still on top of him and slipped the ring on her left ring finger before grabbing her face and proceeding to give her the most passionate, love filled kiss he could muster._

_Their lips molded together with a fire that could have warmed the entire world. Everything was perfect, everything was exactly how it should be. Eames's stomach went haywire as he felt Estelle's soft lips moving with his own. Estelle felt Eames's slight stubble gently tickling her cheeks as she lost herself in his kiss. Two people had never been more in love._

"_I love you so much," she told him through her tears once they pulled apart._

"_I love you too, darling," he told her, "More than you could possibly know."_

_They smiled at each other stupidly before hearing the loudest screech they had ever heard. No sooner had that happened did Mal crash through the doors and tackle them both onto the floor again, followed by Dom, who actually tackled them as well, nearly rolling over. Estelle and Eames then felt Nash fly into the pile and looked up to see Arthur sitting gingerly on top of it all. Congratulations were being thrown at them from every direction and Estelle felt Mal yank her hand up so that she could see her ring. Through all of it, Eames and Estelle looked at each other, grinning like fools. _

_Estelle leaned down as kissed him deeply, not even caring that she was sandwiched in between all of her friends. She pulled away and looked at him with nothing but pure adoration in her eyes._

"_You don't have to sleep on the couch tonight."_


	15. Chapter 15

Once again, thank you for the lovely reviews :] I really like this chapter. It shows a lot of insight into our lovely characters and I think it's the perfect reprieve from the sad and somber mood that's been hanging around thus far. I hope you all enjoy chapter fifteen!

* * *

Arthur located Ariadne's room at their new hotel in Moscow, Russia. Cobb had decided to move the team there, closer to the mark, so that they could prepare even more for the job, which was becoming a huge weight on everyone's shoulders.

He knocked on the door and waited patiently for her to answer. When she did, he immediately noticed her worried expression.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he walked inside.

Ariadne hugged her arms around herself, "I'm worried about Estelle and Eames."

Arthur sat down in a chair and sighed, "Me too, actually."

She sat down in the chair next to his, their knees touching, "I just...the stuff that happened to them is...it's _awful_."

Arthur nodded and stared straight, "Nobody should have gone through what they went through."

"I still don't even know the whole story," Ariadne said, frustrated and with furrowed eyebrows.

"Estelle will tell you," Arthur assured her, "She can't keep it from you much longer. Have you seen the way she's been acting lately?"

Ariadne looked at him with a sad expression, "Of course I have. She looks so..._broken._ I mean, when I first met her I thought she was this wise, strong, woman. I mean she still is but I guess she just gave off an Artemis type of aura."

Arthur nodded, "I agree. Like she's self sustaining and..."

"Asexual?" Ariadne offered.

Arthur cracked up, "Yeah, actually. But obviously, as you know, she needs people. She needs_ us_."

"She needs _him_," she furthered.

He nodded solemnly, "Before all of that happened, they were amazing. It was like nothing you've ever seen before. They just _worked_, you know?"

"They still do," she confirmed, "They were made for each other and," her voice cracked, "it really hurts when I see them so distant and...alone."

Arthur reached over and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers, "Hey, don't worry. Their love is so strong. The strongest I've ever seen or read about _ever_. They'll make it through this. We'll help them."

Ariadne scooted over in her chair so she could put her head on Arthur's shoulder, "I hope so. I really admire Estelle and seeing someone so, ethereally beautiful, in this state is just...wrong."

"Ethereally?"

"You've never thought of Estelle as an angel?" Ariadne asked, "I've always seen her as this pure, strong, almost unreal woman. Like, she acts like she's been around for millions of years. The knowledge she carries around with her," she continued as she shook her head as if it overwhelmed her, "It's...unreal."

Arthur moved his head so he could look down at her, "You really idolize her don't you?"

Ariadne shrugged, "I think it's more than that. She's everything I want to be."

Arthur smiled to himself, "I have no doubt you'll become her then."

"Thanks," she said, unconsciously snuggling closer to him.

"Estelle is my best friend," Arthur said after a moment of silence, "And whenever she's upset or hurting or in trouble it's like...I can feel it. It's like I know."

Ariadne listened to him as he vented the thoughts he had been bottling up, "When...she lost their baby, I had this sickening feeling the entire time we were in the dream beforehand. It's like I could sense danger coming for her and then when it happened...it...I felt it. I shared her pain."

Ariadne squeezed his hand, "She was always the one to listen to me, to defend me, to tease me like a big sister should even though she's not _that_ much older than me. She would just always _be_ there for me. And that one time, when she needed me the most...I couldn't warn her...I couldn't be there."

She felt his shoulders heave once but when she looked up, his face was void of emotions, blank. He stared directly ahead, lost in his memories and feelings. Ariadne was amazed at the bond the team had before she met them. It was almost too much to bear.

"It wasn't your fault," she told him, "You shouldn't blame yourself, Arthur."

He nodded slightly, "I know. But I do anyway."

Ariadne was quiet for a moment, "She loves you, you know. You and Cobb and Eames and probably even Yusuf."

He looked at her, "She loves you too. You've been like, the girl friend she's never had."

She shrugged, "I just want to be there for her. I really adore her."

"Eames loves her so much," Arthur stated.

Ariadne stared forward, "Now _that_ I could see even if I was blind and halfway around the world."

Arthur chuckled, "It is pretty powerful isn't it?"

"I bet it was amazing before...you know."

Arthur gave a low whistle, "Like nothing you've ever seen."

Ariadne shook her head, "That's beautiful."

Arthur leaned over and kissed her temple before whispering, "_You_ are."

She smiled widely and settled her head in the crook of his neck, mumbling, "Did you learn that from Eames?"

She felt him shrug, "It worked on Estelle."

They both laughed.

Estelle was in Yusuf's room, playing a game of chess with him. She found that she quite liked his company. He was very entertaining. Although she missed the quality time she spent with Ariadne, she figured she'd let Arthur have her for a while.

"He's happy," she stated with a smile.

Yusuf looked across at her, his hand hovering one of his knight's over a potential square, "Who is?"

"Arthur," he told him.

"How do you know?"

She shrugged, "I just know."

He placed his piece down, "Freaky."

She laughed and took her turn, "He's my best friend. I always know what he's feeling."

"Sounds like a twin thing to me."

She looked thoughtful, "I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," he winked at her and made a move.

She slid her piece in front of Yusuf's King, "Checkmate."

He groaned, "Third time you've won, Stell! You're a genius."

She smiled at him half heartedly, "Taught by the best."

Yusuf tried not to grimace, "Eames?"

She nodded sadly, "We used to play all the time."

Yusuf suddenly had an idea.

"Hold that thought," he told her, "I forgot to tell Cobb something."

Estelle watched as he got up and practically ran out of the room. She raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off, staring back down at the chess board. She picked up her King and Queen and looked at them, imagining herself and Eames staring back at her.

"Yeah, right in my room, Eames," she heard Yusuf call from outside.

"Why do I have to do everythin-" Eames stopped himself short as he looked at Estelle, who by this time was also looking back at him.

Eames didn't know if he should turn and run out or say something. Seeing her there, sitting in front of a chess board, brought back a lot of good memories, happy feelings. She was looking at him with those beautiful, bright green eyes. They took his breath away, just like they always did.

He watched her contemplate with herself, fingering the pieces she held in her hands. She swallowed and pointed her Queen at the seat opposite her.

"Play me?"

His face broke out into a small, almost shy smile. She returned the gesture and watched him slowly walk over and sit down opposite her. Yusuf's face appeared in the doorway and he gave her a thumbs up before disappearing. Estelle looked back at Eames and gave him a watery, nostalgic smile.

"I'm going to beat you," she whispered quietly.

He shook his head, the small mischievous smile she fell in love with slowly appearing on his lips, "I don't think so, baby."

They played chess together for the rest of the night.


	16. Chapter 16

So sorry for the delay everybody! It's been a crazy last few days and I've had a hard time getting around to writing more chapters and updating. I also had a bit of writer's block, but it's all over now! I knew the end of the story but not how I would get there. Now I do, so all is good :] Do not worry about this story ending soon either! Estelle and Eames are sticking around for a while. Thanks to everyone who is adding Deception to their favorites and story alert lists. That means so much to me! I love all of you! Also, **this chapter is a bit sexual**, just to warn you all. Now, enjoy chapter sixteen!

* * *

_Eames was panting lightly as he set the last box down. He groaned as it settled on the floor and he slowly rolled his body up. There was a cracking noise as he stretched out his back and he gave a noise of relief, the tension leaving his body. Raising his arms above his head, he closed his eyes and rolled his neck, his torso revealing itself from underneath his grey tee-shirt._

_He felt two soft arms weave themselves around his waist and he smiled, lowering his own arms onto them. He pulled the body closer to him and turned his head slightly to see his tiny, beautiful, fiance hugging him from behind._

"'_Ello beautiful," he mumbled, his voice raspy and low._

"_Mmm, 'ello handsome," she breathed in his manly scent, perfectly content._

_He turned around in her arms and wrapped his around her waist, taking a moment to stare at her. She was wearing black running shorts and a peach sports bra that left little to the imagination. His breath caught in his throat as he stared down at her naked torso. She pulled him in closer and pushed her nose to his. He sighed._

"_Love, you're killing me right now," he tried to restrain himself._

"_Yeah?" She asked, pressing her body against his. _

_He groaned again, "Yeah...you are."_

_She smirked and leaned up to kiss him. As soon as her lips molded with his, he felt most of his self restraint fading away. He gripped her hips and pulled her body into him, bringing one hand up to cup her cheek. Her hand flew up to tangle in the hair at the base of his neck while the other rested against his chest, her thumb lightly caressing it._

_He pulled away, "We're never going to unpack at this rate darling."_

_Estelle opened her eyes and looked around at all the boxes that littered the empty apartment. Eames was right. At this rate they would get absolutely nothing unpacked. She sighed and looked back up at him, seeing the playfulness dancing around in his eyes._

"_You're right," she said, sliding one hand up underneath his shirt and up his toned stomach, "But we have our whole lives to unpack."_

_He tried not to give in, but the feeling of her hands on him always set his skin on fire. Sparks were flying everywhere and he knew that soon he would explode. _

"_That's true," he mumbled, caressing her left hand with his right hand and feeling the ring underneath his fingertips, "We do have forever."_

"_Mmmhm," Estelle nodded lazily, pulling him closer, "So right now," she unbuttoned his jeans, "I think that we," she slid her right hand down and smiled when Eames gasped and growled lowly, "should take a break."_

_Without any further words, Eames grabbed her and slammed her body into his, his mouth fitting onto hers perfectly. He threw every bit of passion he could into it and Estelle did the same. His hands roamed all over her, quickly ridding her of her clothes as she worked to undress him as well. _

"_Estelle," he whispered._

_She kissed up his face and over to his earlobe, gently biting it, "Eames."_

_Estelle could hear his heavy breathing as he gently laid her down on the pile of blankets she had brought up earlier. He hovered over her as she laid in the fluffy, white down comforter, her hair sprawled out around her, her eyes lit up with passion._

"_God," he mumbled, brushing his lips against hers, "You are so beautiful."_

_She smiled and tilted her head back as he licked and sucked her neck, "I love you Eames."_

_He stared directly in her eyes and ran his hand down her face, "I love you too, Estelle."_

_A while later, Eames collapsed down onto Estelle, both of them panting heavily. He rolled over and pulled her close into his chest. She kissed his bare skin and fit her head into the crook of his neck. He ran his hands up and down her side lazily, feeling her soft skin underneath his fingers._

"_What a way to break in the apartment eh?" He quipped._

_She cracked up and snuggled closer to him, "Mmm, indeed. Couldn't think of a better way myself."_

_He looked down at her, "I am so in love with you Estelle."_

_Estelle's heart beat wildly, "Eames," she smiled, "You complete me. I love you so much."_

_He poked her nose with his, "Glad we're on the same page."_

_She chuckled sleepily, "Always will be."_

"_Tired baby?" He asked, his voice raspier and deeper after being completely satisfied by his lover._

"_Mmmhm," she said, "Sleep time."_

_He chuckled and found himself yawning, "Alright love, sleep time it is."_

_Eames pulled the fluffy comforter over them both, covering them in a pillowy hideaway. He wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep to the sound of his beautiful Estelle's heartbeat._


	17. Chapter 17

I'm giving you lovely readers two updates tonight :] To make up for my lack of updating these past few days. Also, I would like to apologize to anybody who thinks this story does not have a lot of action. I enjoy writing very emotional and character driven stories. I take a lot of time to delve into characters and detail things. Don't worry though, there will be more action in the future! Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing as well. Enjoy chapter seventeen everybody!

* * *

"Mr. Smith, what are you saying?"

Cobb leaned forward and and placed his thumb under his chin, his pointer finger pressed up against his lips. He pretended to think for a moment before speaking, "I'm saying that your brother is a dangerous man."

Estelle's eyes widened slightly from her seat next to him, "Mr. Smith?" she asked through gritted teeth, forcing a little smile for the woman.

Eames, on Cobb's left, sighed, "What Mr. Smith means is-"

The woman held a hand up, "No need to explain Mr. Walsh. I know that my brother is a terrible monster."

Estelle's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. This was new information.

The woman sat behind the desk was pleasant looking. She smiled a lot and was extremely friendly, the exact polar opposite of her brother, Aleksander Bartrev. Cobb had staged a meeting with her, Yolena Bartrev, in order to both get Eames and Estelle some study time and learn more about Aleksander.

Cobb shifted in his seat, "Then you understand why we need to stop him."

Yolena sat back, "Of course," she spoke in her fragmented English, "Whatever you need to do. My country cannot speak for itself so I will gladly speak for it."

Estelle nodded and reached forward, her hand resting on the Yolena's, "This is very strong and brave of you. Going against your brother, the president."

"I would do it a thousand times over," she told them, "He is not the boy I grew up with anymore," she said sadly.

Estelle licked her lips and gripped Yolena's hand harder, "Is there anything we should know about Aleksander?"

Yolena thought for a moment, "I think in this world, he thinks he is the highest power. He is like Achilles. He has but only one weakness. One thing that could actually stop his tyranny."

Cobb and Eames leaned forward, Cobb asking, "And what is that?"

Yolena stood up and Estelle gave a little, almost inaudible whimper. The russian woman placed a hand lovingly on her swollen stomach and smiled at the three. Eames felt like all of the air had been ripped from his body and Cobb felt like he was the meat in a painful memory sandwich.

Yolena rubbed her belly and smiled sadly, "His family," she placed her other hand on her stomach, "My baby."

Estelle blinked back her tears and smiled at the woman, "We will fix this," she assured her.

The pregnant engineer nodded, "I know you will."

She led them all to the door, "It was a pleasure to meet you Ms. Emerald," she turned to Cobb and Eames, "Mr. Smith, Mr. Walsh."

They all bid her farewell and exited the office, making their way out of the building and into the cool air of Moscow. Eames and Estelle were silent, Cobb walking alongside them with his hands in his pockets. He contemplated whistling, but he thought against it. What would that do except make the situation _more_ awkward?

Estelle placed her hand on her flat stomach. She did it a lot and every time thought that it would help ease the pain. After a while, it stopped comforting her. After a while all she felt was empty. She dropped her hand to her side and looked at the ground, sucking in her bottom lip and biting down.

Suddenly she felt a warm tingling sensation in her hand, the familiar sparks filling her up. Skin rubbed against hers as a hand fitted into hers. Slowly, the fingers intertwined with hers and a thumb rubbed against the side of her index finger. The hand squeezed hers tightly and didn't let go. She squeezed back and lifted her eyes, drowning in the loving pools that stared back at her.

Eames offered her a small smile as he gripped her hand. The loss of their baby had never left him either. The sonogram burned in his pocket as it sat nestled in his wallet. He felt the spirit with them both, as they gave each other timid broken smiles. The spirit of what could have been.

For a moment, Cobb saw a family next to him. As quickly as it happened, the spirit drifted away, up into the clouds, off into the wind. All that he saw then were two people, completely devoted to each other but battling their emotions and desires to heal. Their warped and twisted belief that separation was best was eating at them faster and faster. Cobb watched the distance chip away each and every day. He watched the wounds begin to heal.

Cobb bid them farewell as they reached their hotel. He knocked on Arthur's door and wasn't surprised in the least to see Ariadne and Yusuf inside.

"How'd it go?" Arthur asked.

"Yolena is pregnant," Cobb said simply.

Ariadne immediately gasped and jumped up, wanting to get to her friend and comfort her. Cobb held up a hand to stop her.

"They are together."

"What?" Ariadne made a move for the door again and again, Cobb stopped her.

"Ariadne," he said, walking over to a chair and sitting down, "Let them heal each other."

Outside, Eames and Estelle were in the middle of the hallway, still holding hands. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling of his skin on hers. He took a step closer to her, his heart beating wildly, healing and breaking at the same time.

"Estelle," he whispered.

She whimpered a little, just like in her hotel room back in Paris. Grasping his hand tighter she surprised him. Estelle threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. He felt wetness on his face and reached up to touch it. He was crying.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled to her, burying his face into her hair.

She pulled back and placed her hands on either side of his face, her thumbs caressing away the tears. Eames drew her in and placed his forehead on hers. She nuzzled his nose with hers, her eyes still spouting out tears.

"I forgive you."

Eames gave a sad laugh and, with one arm still wrapped around her, reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He flipped out the battered black and white sonogram and Estelle gasped. She let out a little strangled sob and caressed the worn photo. Eames held the picture in between them and pulled her close. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and left his lips there, both of them staring at the picture.

Cobb, Ariadne, Arthur, and Yusuf peeked their heads out from behind Arthur's door and smiled sadly. Ariadne's eyes watered and Arthur slipped his hand into hers. Outside of his door, they all saw something both beautiful and tragic. When they looked at Eames and Estelle, wrapped up in each other's love and healing, they saw both heartbreak and rebuilding. They saw true love and true loss. But most importantly, they saw the one thing that would bring Eames and Estelle together again, something that would heal them both.

They saw forgiveness.


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry for the delay lovelies! University has been kiiiiicking my ass lately. Thanks for everyone who has been reviewing and adding this to their alert lists and favorites lists :] I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Soon, everyone's questions will be answered! The flashbacks are going to start to morph into the sad reality :[ But don't worry, I'll keep you all entertained. For now, enjoy chapter eighteen!

* * *

_Two months later, Estelle was out with Mal having a girl's day. The guys were all back at Estelle and Eames's place doing something manly. Mal decided she needed a day with her best friend. Everything had been pretty hectic for the past few weeks with Estelle and Eames moving into their new place and Dom, Arthur, and Nash finishing up their latest job._

"_So," Mal said, swinging her shopping bag and linking her arms with Estelle, "how is Eames?"_

_She watched her best friend get the same goofy smile she always got on her face whenever Eames was mentioned, "He's amazing. Wonderful."_

"_Awww," Mal cooed, "I am so glad. You two are a match made in heaven I swear."_

_Estelle nodded, "Yeah. I love him so much."_

"_Good," Mal nodded, "So, when am I going to be an aunt?"_

_Estelle laughed out loud and shook her head, "You're crazy."_

"_Am I?" She laughed, "Because at the rate you two go at it I should already be one."_

"_Shut up!" Estelle laughed loudly, shooting her hand out to smack Mal's arm. As they passed a row of houses outside, an elderly woman came out and smiled down at three cats gathered at her door. She made little noises at them and snapped open a can of cat food to give them. The sound of the can's metal being pulled back immediately upset Estelle. She felt her stomach lurch and made a mad dash for the nearest trash can. Mal ran after her._

"_Estelle? Stelly, are you okay?" _

"_Uuuuugghhh," Estelle groaned, placing her arms around the lip of the can and supporting her body against it._

"_W-what happened?" Mal was confused._

"_The sound of that can opening just set me off," Estelle explained, slightly out of breath._

"_Oh sweetie," Mal rubbed her back, "Why do you think that- .god."_

"_What?" Estelle picked her head up to see Mal smiling widely at her, "Uh, Mally? I just threw up in a trash can. Why are you grinning?"_

_She started to squeal like a teenaged girl and Estelle's eyes widened. Everything made sense now._

_Hours later, Estelle entered her and Eames's apartment. She set her bags down and went off to find her fiancé. Eames was sitting in the living room on the couch, his glasses perched on his nose and the day's paper in his hands._

"_Kind of late for paper reading isn't it?" She asked, biting her lip and smiling at him._

_He smiled at her over his glasses and laughed, "'Ello to you too, love."_

_She rolled her eyes and collapsed against his side. He took off his glasses and slung his arm around her, pulling her close and hearing her sigh in contentment._

"_How was shopping with Mal?"_

_Estelle was quiet for a second. Eames was about to ask what was wrong when she sat up and faced him, curling one leg underneath her and taking his hands in hers._

"_Baby," she said, looking into his eyes, "There's something I have to tell you."_

_He was silent for a minute, "Is something wrong?"_

_She smiled widely, her face lighting up as she shook her head, "No, no. Not even a little."_

"_Well," he rubbed her hand with his thumb, "What is it then darling?"_

_She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and looked back up at her. Estelle kept smiling at him and Eames saw tears coming to her eyes._

"_Why are you crying love?" He asked, scooting closer to her._

"_I'm crying because I am so happy," she told him._

_He gave her a half smile, still confused as ever, "Why is that sweetheart?"_

_She placed both of her hands on his one hand that was still on her stomach, "Because we're about to start a family."_

"_Love, what? I don't get - what?" His eyes grew wide and he felt his emotions bursting inside of him._

_She took her hands off of his and placed them on his cheeks, rubbing her thumbs over them, "I'm pregnant, Greg," she told him, "You're going to be a daddy."_

_Eames made a few noises, trying to piece everything together before he started laughing happily. He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her up off the couch. Estelle laughed as he swung her around the living room. Eames set her down and took her hand in his before beginning to dance with her regardless of the fact that there was no music. They twirled around the living room, laughing merrily the entire time._

"_I take it you're happy?" Estelle giggled._

"_Love," he told her, pulling her close and slowly swaying with her, "I am more than happy."_

"_Good," she sighed, laying her head on his chest, "I love you Eames."_

"_I love you too sweetheart," he leaned down to her flat stomach, "And I love you too."_

_Estelle started crying then and Eames quickly wiped them away. She shook her head and laughed, "Sorry. I'm just so happy right now."_

"_You cry when you're happy? How does that work?"_

_She shrugged, "I don't know, but you should probably get used to me being weird for the next few months."_

_He smiled and kissed her forehead, "Darling, you're already weird."_

"_Hey!" She slapped his arm and he laughed loudly. God how she loved the sound of his laugh._

_He looked down at her stomach and pouted, "Did you see that? Mommy's abusive."_

_She felt like crying all over again. Eames was more than she could have ever asked for. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. He popped his head back up and grinned at her._

"_Corrupting our child are we?" She asked._

_He shrugged, "I'm just telling him or her the truth."_

_She grabbed his face and pulled him into a long and sensual kiss. When she let go of him, he blinked a few times before quickly going back down to her stomach._

"_Forget about that, sweetheart. Mommy's absolutely perfect."_

_She rubbed his shoulders, "Better be what you're saying."_

"_Always love," he told her, wrapping his arms around her._

_She smiled and kissed him again. He held her as their lips meshed together and gently placed a hand on her stomach. Estelle smiled into the kiss and put her hand on his. They stood there, in the middle of their living room, two people completely in love. Two people about to start a family. Two people about to jump into forever._


	19. Chapter 19

Thank you all for still staying by with this story! I've been super busy with university and everything! Millions of apologies for not updating and _many_ millions of thanks to those who continue to add this story to their favorites lists! SOON, the questions you all have will be answered :] I'm loving where this story is going! I hope you all enjoy chapter nineteen!

* * *

"Uh-huh...yes, of course...you have my word."

Cobb snapped his cellphone shut and rubbed his tired eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He groaned and let his head fall back as he stayed sitting in the chair of Arthur's hotel room. They had all once again congregated there, hoping to make more progress.

"Who was that?" Arthur asked.

"The president."

Ariadne exclaimed, "Of what?"

Cobb looked at her, "Of the United States..."

She flopped down on the bed, "Oh my god."

"What did he want?" Estelle asked from her spot, curled up on her own chair.

"Bartrev is getting serious," Cobb replied, "He's just invaded a country in Africa that America had been colonizing and is planning to attack some republics that France has power over."

Yusuf tapped a test tube against his palm, "We should probably do this sooner rather than later..."

"_Way_ sooner," Estelle said.

"Like...next week sooner," Ariadne added.

Cobb was silent for a moment before he conceded, "You're right. We'll do it next week."

"Perfect," Eames said, "One problem though. How are we going to get him alone for at least ten hours?"

Estelle looked over at him, "Leave that to me."

She stood up and grabbed her coat before exiting the room. Eames watched her the entire way. Ariadne saw the adoration radiating off of him and shared a small smile with Arthur.

"What's she planning?" Yusuf asked.

Eames, Cobb, and Arthur all shrugged.

"Probably something that will once again impress me," Cobb answered.

Estelle was led into the familiar office by the same secretary as before. She took the same seat and waited with crossed legs, her hands clasped on top of her knee. A few minutes later, Yolena waddled into the room, a smile on her face. Estelle gave her one to match.

"Ms. Emerald," Yolena greeted her with her alias name, "What brings you back here?"

Estelle licked her lips, "Dr. Bartrev, we need your help with something."

Yolena wrinkled her nose, "It involves my brother?"

Estelle nodded, "Yes, it does."

Yolena sat back and took a breath before glancing back up at Estelle, "Whatever you need me to do."

The older woman smiled and put her hand over the expectant mother's, "Thank you."

Estelle walked back into Arthur's hotel room some time later, finding only Cobb, Ariadne and Arthur still there. She frowned, wondering where the other two were.

"Getting us food," Arthur said, reading her mind.

She smiled at her best friend, "I see you're enjoying that."

He shrugged, "Any chance to get Eames to do my bidding."

Ariadne chuckled and turned to Estelle, "So, where'd you go?"

"To visit Yolena."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "How'd I know?"

"Because you always know, darling," she told him.

"What did you do?" Cobb asked, knowing that whatever she did would make him proud.

She shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal, "I talked her into getting Aleksander alone. She's inviting him to a 'family party', but it'll actually be us knocking him out."

Cobb smiled and clapped his hands, "Well done."

Estelle smirked, "I know."

"So when is this 'party' happening?" Ariadne asked.

"Next Saturday," Estelle told her.

Cobb nodded, "That'll give us enough time. Arthur, Yusuf, we've got planning to do."

Estelle rolled her eyes and turned to Ariadne with a smile, "Our cue."

Ariadne laughed and rose from her chair, "Where to?"

"The balcony?"

Ariadne smiled and followed Estelle to Arthur's balcony. It was warmer outside and the rays of sun were dancing on everything. The heat felt nice compared to the air conditioning that had been cranked up inside the room.

Both women took a seat at the little table on the terrace. Estelle looked out into the city, admiring the view with a small smile on her face. Ariadne reached over and put her hand over the one Estelle had rested on the table.

"How are you?" She asked, concerned for her friend.

Estelle turned to her and looked at her with those big, wise eyes, "I'm better. Getting there at least. Don't worry about me, darling."

She took her hand away, "But I do worry. We all do."

Estelle sighed, "I know you do. And I love you all for it. But, really, I...we can get through this."

"It's taking a long time," Ariadne pointed out.

A sad look passed over the older woman's face and Ariadne almost regretted her statement. Estelle pursed her lips and sighed, shaking her head before turning to the younger girl next to her. She saw a lot of herself in Ariadne. She just hoped her life would turn out happier than hers had been.

"Have you ever been in love, dear?"

Ariadne laughed a little, "No," she said, glancing inside at Arthur who was with Cobb and Yusuf at the inside table discussing plans, "Maybe."

"Well," Estelle said, smiling a little, "Being in love is the greatest feeling in the world. It consumes you and gives everything so much more meaning. When you are in love, you're not two bodies, you're one. You and that one person just..._go_. You just _work_. Everything is right and perfect and wonderful and it's...captivating."

Ariadne sighed dreamily, "It sounds wonderful."

"It is," Estelle frowned a little, "But when you lose that one thing that you love so much, it destroys you. It literally breaks you apart. You can't breathe, you can't sleep, you can't...you can't _be_."

Ariadne scooted forward in her chair, "Is that how you felt?"

"Yes," Estelle replied.

"Is that how Eames felt?"

"I felt worse."

Estelle and Ariadne whipped their heads around and saw Eames, standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, sadness in his eyes. Ariadne could see the devastation, the destruction that had happened in the past, but she could also see the hopefulness. Eames wanted Estelle back in his arms so badly. She scrunched her eyebrows together and tried to fight the pain she was feeling in her heart.

Eames continued in his strong accent, "I felt like my entire reason for living was taken away. There was nothing left. My soul was just," he whispered, "gone."

Estelle's eyes watered.

"And then you came back," he looked right at his beautiful lover, "After three years. After I stupidly left you. You came back and you looked so broken and lost when you looked at me. I felt my heart break all over again. My life had finally come back to me," his voice broke a little, the roughness becoming coarser, "but I was too late...there's was nothing left for me to hold."

Ariadne heaved out a huff of air, her lungs feeling like collapsing. She stood up and grabbed Eames by the hand, dragging him over to the table.

"My god," she said, "You two are _meant_ for each other. You are what Estelle was talking about. You two just..._go_. You _work_. And I swear to _God_ if you two do not fix this right now, I will throw you two _right_ off this balcony. I will not sit and watch this -this," she sobbed a little, "this _beautiful_ love die. I won't do it."

She looked at Eames and then to Estelle, "I won't watch you hurt anymore."

Estelle stared at the strong little woman in front of her and felt one tear roll down her cheek. Ariadne always looked up to Estelle, but Estelle was the one who should be looking up to Ariadne. All _she_ had been doing was drowning in her own sadness. Ariadne was the strong one.

Estelle reached out and hugged Ariadne, kissing her on the head and squeezing her tight.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Ariadne pulled away and put both of her hands on Estelle's cheeks, "You deserve to be happy."

Eames rocked back and forth on his heels as Ariadne exited the balcony. He watched the love of his life extend her hand out and grasp his. He felt the silky smoothness of her hand under his rough ones and started getting a little choked up.

"Eames," she whispered.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

She slid her hand up his chest and rested it over his heart. Standing up on her tip toes, she held his face in her hands and lovingly caressed his cheeks. Eames lowered his forehead onto hers.

"I think we should stop hurting now."

He smiled down at her and kissed the tip of her nose.

"I think you're right."


	20. Chapter 20

Another chapter for you all, although it's a tad short :] We're seeing a shift in present day and the past. The present day chapters are climbing towards happiness while the past are descending towards sadness :[ Poor Estelle and Eames! Enjoy chapter twenty everyone!

* * *

_Estelle woke up with a smile on her face. She stretched and made a few noises before smacking her hand out to her right._

"_Wake up," she laughed as she felt her hand connect with the body next to her._

_Eames stuck his head up from underneath his pillow, "Crazy woman."_

_She smiled and threw the covers off of both of them, sitting up in the bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up as well, leaning down to her rounding belly. He bent down and gently kissed the bump._

"_Good morning," he told it, "You are so beautiful."_

_He looked up at Estelle and shrugged, "Eh, you're alright."_

_She busted out laughing and swatted his shoulder, "Guess I won't make you the huge breakfast I was planning."_

_His eyes widened, "A proper english breakfast?"_

"_Of course."_

_Eames dipped his head down and captured Estelle's lips in his. She moaned a little and leaned back on the bed, caressing his strong bicep. He pulled away and stared down at her, smiling cheekily._

_Estelle fake glared, "Cheater."_

_He kissed her again, "No way," he said, getting up and disappearing into the bathroom._

_She rolled her eyes and laughed to herself, holding her stomach lovingly and getting up. Eames stuck his upper body out into the open bathroom doorway._

"_Babe," he called._

"_Hmm?"_

_He smiled at her, "I love you."_

_Her eyes watered and she smiled back, rubbing her belly, "I love you too."_

"_Forever," he looked into her eyes._

"_And ever," she finished._

_Cobb greeted Estelle and Eames at the door. He gave them both a half smile and Estelle immediately became suspicious._

"_Dom?"_

_He placed a brotherly hand on her cheek and gave her another closed, tight lipped smile before walking away. Estelle looked at Eames, holding her stomach with one hand._

"_What was that about?" Eames wondered._

"_No idea," she replied, taking his hand, "Come on."_

_They walked into the kitchen and Estelle saw her best friend sitting at the table. Mal was staring off out the window, looking completely disconnected with the world._

"_Mally?" Estelle called._

_Mal slowly turned her head and stared at her best friend. Estelle felt a pang in her heart. Mal wasn't looking at her, she was looking _through_ her. It was as if she didn't even recognize her._

"_Why did you bring them here, Dom?" She asked while still staring at Estelle._

"_Honey," Cobb said, coming up behind his wife and taking her hands, "She's your best friend."_

_Mal narrowed her eyes, "No she isn't. Not this one."_

_Estelle gave a low gasp and looked at Cobb, "What does she mean by that, Dom?"_

_Eames wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing the other over to rub her stomach._

_Cobb sighed, "Something's happened, Estelle."_

"_Nothing has happened," Mal said angrily, "You just don't _know_, Dom. You just don't!"_

"_Don't know what?" Eames asked._

"_Reality!" Mal screamed back, "You've all lost your grip on reality!"_

_Estelle's eyes widened, "Mally, what are you talking about?"_

_Mal made an angry noise and stood up, "You're all dreaming! Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"_

_Estelle's mouth dropped open as she watched her best friend storm out of the room. Tears collected in her eyes and her bottom lip trembled._

_Cobb looked at her, feeling his heart break more. He shared a look with Eames and sighed._

"_I have some things to tell you."_

_

* * *

_

_Estelle sat with her hands on her baby bump, watching the tears fall and splatter on top. The black material of her dress soaked the wetness up. As soon as it looked dry, more w_

_ould fall and soak the spots again. She was sobbing._

_Eames sat next to her, dressed in his best black suit, a frown on his face. He looked at Arthur, seated on Estelle's other side. He was, as always, dressed in a nicely pressed suit. This time, it was black, like everyone else's. His forehead was creased and Eames could tell that he was trying to not let any emotions show._

_Estelle looked up, her heart breaking every time she looked at the coffin in front of her. Her best friend, the woman she was supposed to have by her side for the rest of her life, was gone. They were supposed to be friends forever, partners in crime, together until the end. Mal was supposed to help her pick out baby clothes, sympathize with her crazy food cravings, hold her hand when she needed her best friend's advice. _

_And she never would. Not anymore._

_She looked to Eames, her eyes empty, "I wish Cobb could be here."_

_Eames thought of his friend, fleeing the country, not being able to see his babies. He looked at Estelle's bump, where his unborn child lay. He couldn't imagine a life without seeing his baby, without knowing what it looked like. _

"_I do too, sweetheart," he told her, "I do too."_

_She sniffled and Arthur grabbed her hand comfortingly, "Hey, shhh. Stelly, we'll get through this."_

_Estelle looked at Arthur and put a hand on his cheek. She shook her head sadly._

"_No," she whispered, "I don't think I will."_

_Eames leaned over and kissed the skin below her ear, "I'll never leave you, baby."_

_She turned her head and laid her head on his chest._

"_I never want you to."_


	21. Chapter 21

One of my shorter chapters, but I really love this one. Just some team bonding moments for you all to enjoy :] Special thanks to **bluebirdchaos** for the lovely review! I really appreciate all of them you guys! The next chapter is written and it will explain all the questions you all have regarding our dear Eames and Estelle's past. I _really_ can't wait for you all to find out! For now, enjoy chapter twenty-one!

* * *

Arthur knocked on Ariadne's door and found it to be unlocked. He pushed it open gently and saw her by her balcony window, hugging her arms around herself and staring off into the distance. He walked up behind her with his hands in his pockets, staring out alongside her.

"Nervous?"

"We're saving the world, Arthur," she turned to him, "Of course I am."

He took a hand out of his pocket and gently brushed away some hair from her face. He left his hand there and rubbed her cheek lovingly. She blushed but turned her head into his touch.

"I'll be there with you the whole time."

Ariadne smiled, "I'm glad."

They resumed looking out the window, a comfortable silence passing over them. Ariadne started thinking of when Estelle asked her if she had ever been in love. Thinking of how completely devoted Eames and Estelle were to each other sparked a warmth in Ariadne's heart. She turned to Arthur.

"Have you ever been in love?"

Arthur's eyes widened slightly as he kept staring forward. Eventually, a smile graced his handsome face. He looked over at her, locking his eyes with hers.

"Yes," he said, "Once."

She looked thoughtful, "When?"

Arthur turned so he was fully facing her and brought his hands to her hips. He gently turned her so that their bodies were parallel. He pulled her in close and secured his hands behind her back.

"Now."

Ariadne laughed lightly and blushed, looking down. Arthur brought one hand up and lifted her chin. He stared down at the beautiful girl in his arms and watched her smile. Then, she smirked.

"Quick," she told him with a mischievous look, "Give me a kiss."

He laughed and rolled his eyes before leaning down and fitting his lips with hers.

Cobb groaned and sat back in his chair. For once, he wasn't stressed about a job, but something else.

"There's no way I'm letting you beat me."

Yusuf smiled and looked down at the chess board in between them, "I don't see many moves you can make, Dom."

Cobb gave Yusuf a playful glare, "Ah, shut up."

Yusuf busted out laughing and leaned back, "Well, since we both know I'm going to win," he smirked, "Care to do something else?"

Cobb thought for a moment and then smiled, "I'm really good at pool."

Yusuf raised an eyebrow, "We'll see about that."

He couldn't remember the last time he had just hung out with a friend, but it made Cobb smile.

Estelle paced her room later that night, filled with jittery emotions. Tomorrow they were going to stop what could possibly become a nuclear war. She would be the first to admit that she was terrified, no matter how strong she appeared to be.

After trying and failing multiple times to go to sleep, she had resorted to walking aimlessly around her room in her little maroon nightgown. She remembered it being one of Eames's favorites and that thought made her smile. Anything that reminded her of her past with the handsome englishman made her smile. Except for the end. That made her cry.

"Oh, for God's sake," she mumbled to herself.

She grabbed her key from her nightstand and ruffled her hair with her hands. Making her way to the door, she thought of how much she missed him. How much she _really_ missed him. The little things she missed, like laying in bed and just talking, holding hands during breakfast, playing chess and laughing together instead of going out, they were all things she wanted so badly.

She tiptoed down the hall, not wanting to alert her friends that she was out and about, even though the hotel was filled with other people. Finally, she reached his room. Instead of knocking, she tried the handle and laughed quietly to herself when she found it to be open.

"Never locking your damn door," she whispered to herself.

Estelle saw him sleeping in his bed, his arm lying over the empty space next to him, where she should be. She wondered if he always slept like that, after all those years. Three years of being away, did he still wish she was next to him? She knew she did.

Eames stirred and lazily opened one eye. He buried his head in his pillow slightly and smiled.

"I _really_ love that one," he said in a groggy voice, referring to her nightgown.

"I know," she smiled.

He patted the empty space next to him and smiled sadly.

"I've been waiting three years for you to come back and fill this space."

Estelle couldn't help it. For what seemed like the millionth time, she started crying. She quickly walked over to the bed and climbed in, snuggling up to Eames as he wrapped his arm around her. He held her close as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. In that moment, everything was alright and nothing hurt.

"You don't have to wait any longer."


	22. Chapter 22

HERE IT IS! The moment a lot of you have been dying for. We finally find out what happened to their baby :[ I thought this was my most tear jerking but I just wrote Chapter Twenty-Three and I was sobbing, haha. Have a box of tissues ready! In the meantime, review and enjoy Chapter Twenty-Two :]

* * *

"_Dom, are you okay to be doing this?"_

_Cobb looked to Eames as he shuffled some papers into a folder. He shrugged and looked out the window, running his tongue across his top teeth and shaking his head slightly._

"_I have to," he reasoned, "What happened with Mal," his heart constricted, "happened," he said through gritted teeth, "And I have to accept that."_

_The englishman placed a hand on Cobb's shoulder, "You don't have to accept it so soon, you know."_

"_It's been three months," he said, "I haven't seen my kids in three months."_

"_Wh-" Eames began to say._

_Cobb cut him off, "We're not even in the same country, Eames."_

_Eames clenched his jaw and looked out to the dreary skies of London. They had gotten a job offer there and, since Cobb had been forced to flee the country, they thought it was a good take. The only problem was that Dom and Estelle had been down in the dumps since Mal passed away. It wasn't getting any better, but Estelle was at least trying to make an attempt._

"_Dom," Arthur said, now appearing in the room, "We don't have to do thi-"_

"_We're doing it! No more questions!"_

_The entire time, Estelle sat in the corner of the hotel room, curled up on a chair, holding her seven month baby bump. She sat silently, observing the men in the room. Finally, she decided to speak._

"_Darlings," she said in her strong accent, "I'm sorry to be a spoil sport but um, you're a person short for the job."_

_Arthur scratched his head, "I think we could manage."_

_Nash looked around with an uneasy face, "I'm not so sure."_

_Cobb focused in on him, "Why?"_

"_Well," he began, "We've got Eames posing as the wife, which is creepy might I add," Eames threw him a look, "Cobb, you're doing the extracting, Arthur has to stay in the lighthouse, so he can't do more than one job, and I can't change into Mal so that leaves-"_

"_My date unaccounted for," Cobb finished, "I see."_

"_Exactly," Nash said, "The mark has to think he's talking to a wealthy couple at the gala."_

"_I'll go," Estelle said, putting both hands on either side of her and supporting her weight as she pushed herself up. Slowly, she gained her balance and started to waddle over to them._

"_Woah, woah," Eames said, rushing over and placing an arm around her waist, "I don't think that's a good idea, sweetheart."_

"_It'll be okay, babe," Estelle put her hand over his arm. He softened a little._

"_We can even use this formula," Arthur held up a bottle, "It packs less of a punch and won't hurt the baby."_

_Eames still looked uneasy, "Are you absolutely positive my baby will be safe, Arthur?"_

_He nodded, "Yes."_

"_Alright," Cobb said, "It's settled then. Nash will stay here and Estelle will come in."_

_A few hours later, they were set up and ready, the mark drugged and asleep. They laid down in a circle and hooked themselves up to the PASIV machine. Eames laid down next to Estelle and took her hand, entwining their fingers together. She smiled over at him and faintly heard Nash pressing down on the button. Both of their eyelids started to flutter closed and Eames squeezed her hand._

"_I love you," he said before his eyes closed._

"_Love you too," Estelle managed to whisper before she woke up to a strong sea breeze._

_She found herself looking out into the distance of a beautiful sea horizon. The heat was warm on her face and the salty smell floated up her nose. Cobb was next to her, a protective arm around her waist. They couldn't risk blowing their cover._

"_Ah! There's the lovely couple!"_

_Estelle quickly looked to the beautiful lighthouse a little ways off the coast and briefly spotted Arthur poised behind his sniper rifle. She made eye contact with him before turning around with a big smile on her face and a hand on her stomach._

"_Oh, you're expecting," the mark, Eli Whitmore, said with smiling eyes. He gave Cobb, whose alias was Dan Epps, a congratulatory handshake._

"_Seven months," Estelle, whose alias was Anne Epps, smiled._

_Eames, who was posing as Eli's wife Sharon Whitmore, came up then, "Hello everyone."_

_Estelle almost cracked a smile at her fiancee, posed as a woman. It never got old._

"_Honey! There you are," Eli smiled, "I was just talking to Dan and Sharon about their new addition!"_

"_You must be very excited," Eames as Sharon said, sharing a little knowing smile with Estelle._

_A while later, the four of them were seated at a table on the deck, still overlooking the sea. The sun was beginning to set and Cobb was starting to get somewhere. A few drinks in and Eli Whitmore was a talking machine. _

"_Well, my company is getting a little out of hand. I'm CEO and my employees are carrying out operations behind my back!" He moaned. Eames faked a sympathetic look, playing the part of his wife still._

"_They probably want to know about your new developments," Estelle said, fondly stroking her belly._

"_They would," Eli laughed, "I'll tell you about them," he sat up in his chair, sloppily leaning on the table._

_Cobb smiled slightly to himself. They were making good time. The mark was about to spill the secrets they needed._

_All of a sudden, he heard the unmistakable sound of glass breaking and childlike laughter. Estelle's eyes grew slightly wider, confused. In the lighthouse, Arthur cursed under his breath and abandoned his rifle, rushing down the steps as fast as he could. Outside of the dream, Nash saw Estelle's fingers twitch. This wasn't good._

"_What do we have here?" Estelle knew that voice anywhere. She turned to see her best friend, dressed to perfection, standing behind them, a scowl on her face._

"_Who are you?" Eli asked._

"_Dom," Mal ignored Eli, "What are you doing?"_

"_What is she doing here," Eames leaned forward, still as Sharon, and harshly whispered to Cobb._

_Cobb swallowed, "Mal, you need to leave."_

"_No," she shook her head, producing a knife from behind her back. Eames instinctively stood up and made a move to go over to Estelle. Mal held the knife out and narrowed her eyes, "Don't move."_

"_Mally," Estelle said, slowly getting up, "You don't know what you're doing."_

"_Oh, I don't?" she asked, angrily, "Maybe it's you who doesn't know what you're doing. What, did you think that because I'm not around in your dream world anymore you can just go around with my husband?"_

_Estelle held her hands up, confused, "What? Sweetheart, I'm not...we're not together."_

"_This is a dream, baby," Cobb tried to reason with her, "And you're not real."_

"_I am, Dom," Mal seethed, "And you fucked my best friend! You're having a _baby_ with her."_

_Eames looked into the reflection on his spoon and changed back to his rugged, handsome form, holding his hands out, "No! No, he's not. Mal, that's my baby. Please," he begged, "Don't hurt my baby."_

"_It's not real," Cobb said to him, "She won't hurt the baby for real."_

_Estelle felt wrong. Something wasn't right. She couldn't control her breathing and her hands wouldn't stop shaking. This was all feeling very real. She vaguely registered Arthur running up the path to the deck form the lighthouse. He knew something was wrong, too._

"_You need to wake up, Dom," Mal told him, "I'm going to help you."_

"_Mally! Mally, please!" Estelle screamed._

_Before anybody could stop it, Mal lunged forward and stabbed Estelle in the stomach. The englishwoman's eyes grew wide and her hand flew to grab the handle of the knife. She felt a tiny burst inside of her and the feeling of vomit creeping up her throat. Warm blood oozed through her fingers. Eames screamed out and pushed Mal out of the way, catching Estelle before she fell. _

_Arthur reacted and shot Cobb in the forehead, along with Eames and Estelle. He had a terrible, uneasy feeling inside of him as he held the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. When he woke up, he wished it was all a dream still._

_Estelle was sitting up, sweat across her forehead and tears streaming down her cheeks. Nash was sitting by the PASIV machine with wide, fearful eyes and Cobb looked close to tears, holding his head in his hands. Eames glared up at Arthur with so much hatred that Arthur thought he would erupt into flames._

"_You said nothing would happen," he seethed._

_Arthur looked down to see Estelle sitting cross legged on the floor, holding her stomach. She brought her hand up and showed Arthur her skin. Her entire hand was coated in blood, the flow coming steadily from underneath her. Somehow, the new formula wasn't strong enough for both Estelle and the baby to go under with. The trauma from being stabbed in the dream came through and affected the baby in real life. It was as if she really had been stabbed._

_Estelle looked up, directly into Eames's eyes and let out a terrible, blood curdling scream._

"_We need to get to the hospital," Eames screamed, "Now!"_

_Life would never be the same after that._


	23. Chapter 23

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews :] I really appreciate them. Now, when I wrote this I cried a lot so I hope I don't ruin anyone's day! I also cry easily so that's another thing, haha. Either way, I really hope you all enjoy Chapter Twenty-Three because I know I love this one! :]

* * *

"I remember crying so hard that my throat was sore."

Ariadne sniffled, her sobs quiet now. She looked to Estelle, her idol, and saw her eyes glazed over. Softly, she laid her hand on top of the older woman's.

Estelle kept staring straight, "Losing my baby was the second worst thing that has ever happened to me."

Ariadne looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, "What was the worst then?"

Estelle took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"_You have to understand me, Stell."_

_Estelle looked at Cobb through watery eyes and nodded bitterly, "Oh, I understand," she said, "telling your best friend that you need her out of your life is a very common thing."_

_Cobb looked at her sadly, "Stell, that's not how I meant it. Please..."_

"_Dom. I just lost my baby," a single tear fell down her cheek, "And now I have to lose my family."_

_Arthur's brow creased. He was trying hard not to show emotion. Leaving his best friend behind was not his idea and he didn't like it one bit._

"_I know but," Cobb sighed, "I can't get back to my kids unless I keep extracting and I can't keep extracting if you're ar-"_

"_If I'm around to remind you of Mal," Estelle finished, "Unbelievable!" she shook her head and laughed, "So, I guess this is it?"_

_Cobb shut his eyes tightly and then opened them, "For now."_

_Estelle whimpered as she looked at Cobb, Arthur, and Nash's suitcases sitting by the door, "Right then."_

_Cobb nodded awkwardly and moved back. Arthur rushed forward and grabbed Estelle in a hug. She gripped his shoulders and cried._

"_This wasn't my idea," he told her, "I wouldn't leave you."_

_She pulled back and looked him in the eye, "But you are."_

"_Stelly," he said, "I have to-"_

"_I know," she nodded. She looked back past his shoulder at Cobb, "I know."_

_Cobb opened his arms, "Please?"_

_Estelle cracked a little smile and walked into his waiting arms, "Don't take too long, okay?"_

"_I won't," he laughed, "Promise."_

_Nash hugged her goodbye and gave her a kiss on top of her head, "Don't be a stranger."_

_She punched his arm a little, "Remember to turn your phone on and I won't be."_

_He rolled his eyes and walked over to his suitcase. Arthur and Cobb followed suit. They stood by the door, looking back at their friend. Eames came out moments later, a suitcase in hand. Cobb cringed._

"_We'll uh, give you two some time," he said, "I love you, Stell."_

_Estelle looked back and forth between Eames and her friends' retreating backs, "What?"_

_Eames set his suitcase down, "Love, let me explain."_

_She looked at him, eyes wide with fear, her mouth open, "Go ahead."_

"_I have to do these couple of jobs," he sped up when he saw her open her mouth to retort, "Just for a little while! And I'm doing this for us! We need the money, babe, and I'm gonna get it, okay? Just, it's only for a little while, yeah?"_

_Estelle pursed her lips and whispered in a deathly low voice, "We just lost our baby."_

_Eames felt his heart break, "I-I know," his voice cracked, "But babe, I can't-"_

"_Don't," she held up a hand, "say another word."_

_Estelle started to pace the room, holding her now completely flat belly, "Three weeks. It's been only three bloody weeks since we lost our baby. Since we lost our baby girl. And now," she gestured around the room, "Now you want to leave me. For this - this world of lies! You're a cheat, Greg, and one day you're going to get caught and I'm going to lose the love of my life and you know what? I was perfectly content with that day coming. Because, I would be right there next to you in that damn jail cell. Right damn next to you."_

_Eames's eyes watered a she continued, almost yelling now, "I'd stay with you forever, Greg. Forever. Do you know why? Because I am in love with ..you. And now you want to walk away from this? From me? Why can't you stay here? With me? Why can't we work together and do our own jobs? Huh? Why can't we wait for Dom to be able to go back and then get back with them again?" _

_Her voice was at a whisper again, tears streaming steadily down her face, "Why can't we just stay here and be in love?"_

_Surprising Estelle, Eames let out a little sob and shook his head. He walked up to her and gently moved some hair from her face. Leaning in, he gave her one last, love filled kiss. She hung onto it for as long as possible, knowing it was the end. Eames backed up and leaned down, grabbing the handle of his suitcase. His bottom lip trembled and he shook his head._

"_We can't because," he swallowed and felt his eyes begin to leak, "Every time I look at you, I think of my baby girl, and my heart breaks a little more. I'll never be her daddy. She'll never call me her hero. I'll never hold her hand. When I look at you," he said, so sadly that he felt that he would surely collapse, "I see all of the things I'll never have."_

_Estelle let out a strangled sob and walked up to him, feeling her heart break into smaller pieces with every step. Slowly, she slid the engagement ring off of her finger, sobbing the whole time. She looked up, directly into his eyes, and grabbed his palm. He felt her place the ring on his skin and close his fingers around it. He watched her back up._

"_Now look at me," she told him, her breathing coming out in shaky rasps._

_ "Now, you should see everything you'll never have." _

_Eames looked right at her and knew he would never love anybody else ever again._

Ariadne was sobbing loudly now, along with Estelle. The younger girl wrapped her arms around her friend as they cried. Estelle stared down at her hands.

"Every day I would look down at my hand and think 'wow, this is so wrong'. All I wanted was to see that ring there and see his smiling face next to me. His stupid, goofy, smiling face," she laughed herself, "That's all I wanted, and I couldn't have it."

Ariadne wiped her eyes, "You can now."

Estelle nodded, "I know," she said, "And that's the best part."

Ariadne took her hand in her own and smiled.

"I never believed in miracles until I met him," Estelle told her, "And I never believed in fate until it brought us together again," she put her hands on her stomach, "Funny how one man can make you believe in what you swore you wouldn't."

"Funny how one man can become you're entire reason for living," Ariadne finished.

Estelle nodded and was silent for a moment. She placed a loving arm around Ariadne and smiled.

"Don't ever let him go, Ari."

The younger girl smiled, "You either."

Estelle laughed, "Never really did."

The girls smiled at each other and walked to Arthur's room where they all sat down to go over the plan one more time. Tomorrow, they were going to save the world.

Eames held Estelle's hand the entire time.


	24. Chapter 24

I'm sorry for the delay! Life's been crazy, but I'm still here! I hope everyone loves and reviews Chapter Twenty-Four! :]

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Aleksander looked down at his glass of brandy and rolled his eyes. It tasted like crap. He got up, angrily, and started making his way to where his sister was. His legs started to wobble a little and he caught himself on a side table.

"Yolena!" He bellowed, feeling his vision beam in and out, "What's in this dri..."

The last thing he saw before passing out on the floor were the apologetic eyes of his very pregnant sister.

"He is ready," she said in her Russian accent. Cobb and the rest of the crew slipped out from the basement and walked over to where the President of Russia lay. Arthur carried over the PASIV machine and began explaining the simple operations to Yolena.

"He's out cold," Yusuf said, "What did you knock him out with?"

Yolena shrugged, "I think it is the equivalent of a horse tranquilizer."

Yusuf's eyes widened, "Effective."

She smiled and put a hand on her stomach, "Thank you."

Yusuf quickly scurried away from her and over to Ariadne and Estelle. Arthur chuckled and continued explaining what was about to happen.

"Are you nervous?" Ariadne asked.

Estelle shifted a little, "It's my first time going back under since..."

Yusuf placed a hand on her shoulder, "You'll do fine, my dear. Nothing to worry about."

She looked down at her flat stomach, "You're right...there _is_ nothing to worry about."

He cringed, "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," she nodded and hugged him, "You're a good man, Yusuf."

"Thank you," he noticed Eames walking up, "Speaking of good men," he nodded in his direction.

Estelle turned to the Forger and smiled brightly. He gave her one in return and reached for her hand. She fitted their fingers together. Ariadne subtly motioned for her and Yusuf to relocate and moved them over to where Cobb was. Eames brushed some hair out of Estelle's face.

"Are you sure you're alright, love?"

She nodded, "I'll be okay."

He wrapped his arms around her, "Are you lying to me?"

"Greg," she laughed, "You know me. I'm a rubbish liar."

"And yet a marvelous Deceiver."

She shrugged in his embrace, "Funny how that worked out."

Eames's face grew serious then, "Estelle, I uh..."

She watched his expression become distant, "Greg? What's wrong? Are you thinking about...last time?"

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He drew in a deep breath and fidgeted a little. When he opened his eyes, he saw two beautiful green orbs staring back at him. His expression softened considerably.

"I love you."

She smiled and laid her head on his chest, "I love you too. Always have and always will."

Eames pulled away and nodded, "Same here, darling."

They both looked over to their friends, sitting themselves down in a circle around the PASIV machine. Estelle nudged the englishman and smirked.

"Ready to go?"

"As long as I'm with you, darling."

She squeezed his hand and led him over to everyone else, "You'll always have me."

They sat down next to each other and grabbed their leads from the big metal briefcase. Eames reached over and hooked Estelle up, knowing it was her least favorite part. It didn't hurt her at all when he did it. After he hooked himself up, he laid down and turned his head towards Estelle. She smiled at him and looked to see Yolena by the machine.

"Ready?" She asked everybody.

"Let's save the world," Ariadne said.

She pressed down on the button and they all immediately felt Yusuf's formula doing its job. Eames sleepily reached over and grabbed Estelle's hand. Her eyes met his and they both smiled at each other before letting the darkness consume them.

When they came to on the other side, they were in a library. Arthur quickly got up and checked that they were alone. Cobb pulled Ariadne to her feet as Eames helped up Estelle.

"So, where is Bartrev?" Yusuf asked as he looked around.

"Down the street at the cemetery," Ariadne answered.

"Then why are we in the library?"

Ariadne shrugged with a small smile, "Precautions."

"Right," Yusuf eyed her.

"Okay, let's move out. Everyone looks great," Cobb said as they all filed out the door.

They were all dressed in black, ready for the funeral of Bartrev's Vice President's brother. When they made it to the cemetery, Bartrev was already there, as were many other people. Eames took Estelle's hand as they all walked up. Arthur's fingers lightly touched Ariadne's and they both suppressed a smile.

The ceremony was in Russian. The team tried not to look out of place and were doing a fairly good job. Cobb bumped into Bartrev and made a motion of apology. Bartrev nodded gruffly and turned back to the casket, bored. Cobb signaled for Estelle to work her magic.

Ariadne watched, intrigued, as Estelle looked completely unfazed. She looked around to see what she was doing but realized that she wouldn't be able to see it.

Estelle kept looking on like a normal funeral goer but on the inside she was focused and in her element, her pure white space. Off to the side, behind the crowd and in Bartrev's direct line of sight, she created a scene. His Vice President's brother came stumbling towards the crowd, waving his arms frantically and screaming his lungs out. He was saying "I'm alive! I'm alive! Don't cry anymore, I'm here!"

Ariadne noticed Aleksander look up and around, his eyes slightly wide. She didn't know what Estelle was creating, but it was working. Bartrev was questioning if anyone else was seeing what he was seeing.

The brother was almost to the crowd. He reached out his arm towards his brother, the VIce President. Just as he was about to lay his arm down, shots rang out and his body jerked backwards. Bullets riddled his chest and blood started to drip down his uniform. Aleksander's eyes went wide and his neck started to perspire. My God, did anyone else see this?

Eames saw Estelle's fingers twitch, something that always happened when she was coming out of her focus.

The brother fell to the ground, his cold, dead eyes staring right at Aleksander. Cobb saw The Mark's jaw tremble ever so slightly and suppressed a smirk. Estelle was good.

Estelle's eyes blinked once and Eames knew it was over. Aleksander looked around more, blinking his eyes rapidly. He was confused and very disturbed. He cleared his throat softly as the ceremony continued. After it was over, Team Cobb followed him to his car. Estelle handed Eames a mirror and in one blink, Eames had transformed into Bartrev's security guard.

Eames opened the door for Bartrev and watched as Arthur slid into the backseat. Yusuf got into the passenger seat as Eames opened the driver's side door. Estelle, Ariadne, and Cobb all got into the car behind them. Eames looked in the rearview mirror and saw the confused expression on Bartrev's face. Then he watched Arthur quickly throw a cloth over his nose and mouth. The Mark's eyes rolled back into his head. Arthur smiled slightly and signaled for Eames to go. The Forger smirked.

"Good work, darling."


	25. Chapter 25

Hello all! So sorry for the delay! Thanks to everyone who keeps adding me and my story to their favorites list. I greatly appreciate it and am very humbled by it! I actually love this chapter a lot. I hope everyone enjoys this and what Estelle can do! She's so great :P Enjoy Chapter Twenty-five!

"Are you going to be okay with this?"

Yusuf rolled his eyes and gripped the steering wheel, "I'm used to it."

"What?" Estelle asked from the seat furthest in the back.

The Chemist turned to her, "I _always_ drive the van."

Eames stifled a laugh, "But you're so good at it."

Arthur clenched his jaw, "Eames."

Eames leaned back and put an arm around Estelle, "Arthur."

Ariadne took the Point Man's hand and smiled at him, "Play nice."

He eyed the Forger, "Him first."

Cobb checked that Aleksander was still out and turned to his team, exasperated, "Guys."

Estelle cleared her throat, "Right. We're ready when you are, Dom."

Dom nodded, "Okay," he turned to Yusuf, "Just keep the van upright, please."

Yusuf rolled his eyes, "Don't get me shot at then."

The team hooked themselves up for a second time and sat back in their seats. Yusuf leaned back and pressed down on the button of the PASIV machine. He returned to his driving position and sighed. Alone again. At least this time he wasn't getting shot at.

Aleksander looked around and shifted in his seat. He furrowed his eyebrows. What was this guy talking about again? There were so many people in the room, it was stifling. He shot a glance to his left where his Vice President sat, calm and collected.

"What is he talking about?" Aleksander asked him in Russian.

"Nuclear power," his Vice President hissed, "you're about to give a speech."

Aleksander felt his heart sink. Speech? What? When in the hell did he say he was going to give a speech on nuclear power?

"A speech?"

His friend gave him a look, "Don't play dumb with me. You know my brother just died. This is the last place I want to be. Look over your note cards."

Aleksander reached into his breast pocket and pulled out several index cards. He leafed through them and saw that they were all advocating nuclear power. Well, he knew a lot about that subject so maybe all was not lost.

"Do I have a...slideshow?"

The Vice President sighed, "Sir..._Aleks_...you made it yourself. What's wrong with you?"

Aleksander creased his brow, "It's just hot in here, I guess."

"And now," The man on stage spoke, "I'd like to introduce Aleksander Bartrev, President of Russia!"

There were mild claps around the room as Aleksander got up and walked towards the stage. He positioned himself behind the lectern and gave an almost confident smile. He smoothed out his tie.

"Good...uh..." he didn't know what time of the day it was, "Hello."

He could see his Vice President pressing his palm to his face.

Aleksander took out his note cards, "I'd like to take some time to explain to you all my take on nuclear power. Thank you," he nodded at the man who had previously been in his place, "for starting us off."

"First, I'd like to talk about why I think Russia should become a country that is based off of a nuclear industry," he picked up the remote on the lectern and hoped his powerpoint wouldn't screw him up, "I've prepared a slideshow to help persuade you and explain my position."

He noticed a woman in the back. She was beautiful. Her long brown hair fell into loose ringlets and her bright forest green eyes looked like they held the world. She was stunning, momentarily catching him off guard. She gave a soft smile and directed her eyes at the projector screen.

"Nuclear power is the most efficient means of power," a slide popped up showing a clean, beautiful power plant. He went on to explain how fundamental it would be in cleaning the Earth. Political crap.

"In regards to efficiency, it is the strongest way to become a superpower," his face changed into his usual authoritative "I-get-what-I-want-and-will-be-the-best" look. He clicked the remote. The women in the back blinked.

He looked back at the screen. What he saw was the most disgusting image he had ever laid eyes on. A mangled, grotesque body lay in a hospital bed, reaching out a decaying, gnarled hand towards the camera. The caption under it said "Victim of Nuclear Radiation Reaches Out For Help" with a short article on him underneath. Aleksander swallowed the lump in his throat and clicked the remote again.

"Nuclear power is neccessary..." another picture popped up, this time of a little girl. Her face was rotting off, her little eyes sunken in. She was crying and clutching a dirty teddy bear that had only one arm and one eye that was hanging on by a thread. Aleksander thought of his sister and the child inside of her.

The man that had gone on before Aleksander gave him a strange look and motioned for him to continue on with the presentation. All he saw was a chart with statistics on nuclear power's estimated economic growth.

"Necessary to achieve our goals of becoming a world leader in economy, military, and politics," Aleksander clicked the remote again. The woman in the back blinked again, this time rapidly.

He wanted to vomit. A series of pictures of decrepit, decaying, and horribly disfigured people flashed before his eyes. A small video clip of a mushroom cloud subliminally imbedded itself into his brain. Audio clips of tortured screams of agony filled his ears and he dropped the remote. He looked around at the curious faces in front of him, especially the woman's. She wasn't looking at him. Everyone else was. They looked at him oddly, as if they _weren't_ seeing the awful images displayed on the screen.

"I...uh..." the screams became the louder, video clips of people without legs, with tumors the size of small dogs on their heads all played up on the projector. An old woman was knitting in a rocking chair, her eyes sunken in and runny from nuclear fallout, her hands barely able to hold the sewing needles in them. She had only six fingers. She smiled and her teeth were gone, her gums rotting and black. Aleksander thought he was going to be sick.

He slowly backed up from the podium just as another clip flashed on the screen. A nuclear bomb was dropped. The colors of the mushroom cloud almost blinded him. The ripples of the explosion panned out across the area, knocking down everything in their way. Debris flew everywhere before being singed in the onslaught of nuclear energy. The smoke cleared and there was nothing. Absolutely nothing left. Not even skeletons. Not even bones.

"I'm sorry," he said, barely above a whisper. Nobody even heard him. They just watched him run off the stage and out the back door. He passed the woman in the back and saw her hand shake once before she looked up at him. Her green eyes bore into his and he saw a terrible hatred in her eyes. He saw a hatred for any man who would dare use such power to become supreme. Her look literally shook him to the core. He ran out of the room.

Dom found him vomiting in a nearby wastebasket. He strolled up to the Russian President and cleared his throat. Aleksander wiped his mouth and looked at him.

"Yes?" He said in Russian.

Dom shook his head, "I'm an American diplomat."

"Sorry to hear that," Aleksander said in shaky English.

The Extractor fought an eye roll, "I'm wondering if you're alright."

"I'm fi-" he looked up at the ceiling, at the architecture, "We are in Prague..."

"The Czech Republic, yes. You signed on to give a speech here. The United Nations is here..." Dom trailed off at Aleksander's confused and slightly angry look.

"I told the United Nations that I would not speak with them here."

Dom's jaw slackened. Arthur approached dressed in a black suit. He saw Dom's obvious nerve spike, "Gentlemen."

Aleksander turned to him, "You are not an American diplomat," he turned to Cobb, "neither are you. I _know_ the diplomat's that speak to me."

Several security guards started to pay closer attention to the conversation the three men were having. Arthur gave Cobb a look to which Cobb gave a secret nod to. Inside the lecture hall, the woman in the back felt someone sit down next to her. She inconspicuously handed the person a mirror and watched as the Vice President morphed into Eames. They smiled at each other.

"That went well," Eames said, "Beautiful job, sweetheart."

"Why thank you," she took his hand, "Ariadne is over there," she indicated her friend who was off the the left side of the room, dressed in a blue business suit with her hair down.

"Should we find Cobb and Arthur?" Eames asked, staring into her eyes and feeling momentarily at peace.

"Yes, that seems like a good idea."

They made a move to stand up and, in an instant, everyone else in the room's heads turned to stare at them. Estelle stopped midway through getting up and looked over at Eames, alarmed. Ariadne scrambled from her seat and briskly walked over to the two of them. The projections of the people in the room began to get up from their seats, staring down the three of them.

"We need to leave," Eames's grip on Estelle's hand tightened as the englishwoman grabbed the young Architect and practically dragged her from the hall. They saw several security guards rushing towards them, their guns drawn. Eames groaned.

"Just _one_ time I would like things to go smoothly."

They spotted Cobb, Arthur, and Aleksander off to the right. Arthur caught Estelle's eye and motioned for them to go the opposite way. Eames pulled them in that direction and they broke out into a run, the security guards hot on their tails. Estelle could hear Cobb say one last thing before the three of them headed into the other direction.

"Mr. Bartrev, I'm Mr. Charles. Do you remember me?"


	26. Chapter 26

Hello all! So incredibly sorry for the wait! I just finished a university year so I had mounds of work and finals and papers out the wazoo. Thank you so much to everyone who is still here for the ride. I love you all! Updates will be faster now that I have absolutely nothing to do with my life :] I hope you all enjoy and review Chapter Twenty-Six! Things are getting interesting...

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Eames, Estelle, and Ariadne rushed into a room and quickly slammed the door, throwing their bodies against it. They had just ran up six flights of stairs, down seven twisted hallways, and knocked over countless things while trying to get away from Bartrev's subconscious.

Estelle took a deep breathe, "Dom? Are you okay?"

She waited for her earpiece to crackle with his familiar voice, "_Arthur's angry at me. Are you alright?"_

She sighed in relief and chuckled, "Of course he is and yes, we're all okay. For now."

"_Good,"_ Dom said, "_We should...wait, I'm not sure how to get to you. Bartrev knows he's in a dream. He thinks we're the good guys though."_

"He actually believed Mr. Charles?"

Eames raised his eyebrows at that, "What an easy sap."

Ariadne rolled her eyes and began looking around the small room they had ran into. Maybe she could change the layout...

"So what will we do?" Estelle asked.

"_We need to find a way to meet up and go into the final stage. He's already going on and on about how sick nuclear power makes him. That's good, right?"_

Estelle smiled, "Don't seem so doubtful. We're experts."

"_I know you're smirking right now," _Dom smiled to himself, "_Arthur is giving me an awful look. I'm going over to them now. He said something about a safe room that Ariadne put in here...try to get to that and meet us there."_

"Okay, we're coming. Be safe."

Estelle turned back to Ariadne and Eames, "Ariadne, you put a safe room in this building?"

The young Architect nodded, "After last time, I figured it's better to be safe than in limbo."

"Not exactly how the saying goes, my dear," Eames said and offered her a small smile.

"Close enough," Estelle said. Her mind was running a mile a minute and her hand was shaking. Eames reached out and grabbed it, calming it with his touch.

"Everything will be okay, love."

She looked at him, "Just like last time?" She asked sadly.

He blinked and swallowed hard, "This time there isn't much to lose."

"Except the future."

Ariadne opened the door a little and looked back at them, "If you two are done being so morbid, I'd like to get to the safe room now, please."

Eames and Estelle looked at her and nodded, indicating that they were ready to go. The three of them swiftly left the small room and maneuvered themselves to the safe room that Ariadne had installed. Cobb, Bartrev, and Arthur were already there.

Cobb came out and closed the door behind him.

"Um, not that we're not thrilled to all be in one piece," Eames began, "But why are we out here in the open hallway where his subconscious is free to murder us?"

Cobb rolled his eyes, "Eames, you're charming."

"I already know this fact."

Cobb ignored him, "I need you to turn into his VP."

"Alright. Why?"

"I'm going to tell him that it's his vice president's subconscious."

"You want Bartrev to believe his vice president is doing this to him?" Ariadne asked, "Won't that just make him angry?"

Estelle cut in, "Not if we play it correctly. Dom has a point. His vice president would _want_ Bartrev to be against nuclear power, so he would go to any lengths to get him to understand. Maybe we should include his sister, too."

"Can you make that happen?" Cobb asked.

Suddenly, Bartrev's sister appeared from around the corner, her stomach very swollen and the same lovely smile on her face.

Eames smiled, "Never question her, Dom."

Cobb smirked, "Should've known better."

Eames looked into a mirror on the wall and transformed into Bartrev's vice president. He turned to the others and nodded. They were ready.

"Let's go," Cobb said as he led them inside the safe room.

Bartrev turned and saw his sister. He immediately went to touch her but she held a hand up. Estelle stood close in order to control her.

"Do not touch me," she said in her broken english.

Bartrev's eyes widened, "Sister, I am sorry."

"You are always saying that. You are a monster, Aleks," tears formed in her eyes, "And I can not forgive you for what you have done."

Bartrev bowed his head, "I understand."

Eames, disguised as his vice president, spoke up, "I am sorry to have done this to you. I needed you to understand. This is not how things should be. You cannot go around gaining power from causing fear."

Bartrev's hands shook a little, "They all mock me. All of the countries."

Disguised Eames shook his head, "No, no they do not. You think they do. They are put off by your demanding personality, Aleks. You do not like to share."

Aleksander grumbled something, resembling what a four year old would do when being scolded. Estelle slightly lifted her eyebrow and refrained from rolling her eyes. She cast a glance at Ariadne and the two women shared a look. The president of Russia was quite childish.

He spoke up, "I am truly sorry," he turned to Cobb, the team, and his sister, "for all of the pain I have put you through."

Estelle made Yolena nod but keep a straight face. Aleksander had to know that what he had done was wrong, really wrong. She looked up at him with determination.

"You must call off the order to bomb the Powers."

Bartrev blinked and whispered, "Okay."

"Speak louder, brother," she commanded.

"I will!" He said louder and with much more conviction.

Yolena nodded, "Good."

Cobb took a step forward and said gently, "We should go."

Estelle looked at him and tried to read his mind. What was he planning? They had one more level to go. How could they convince Bartrev to go and what exactly were they going to do now that Mr. Charles had been brought out? She couldn't read him.

Bartrev looked at him, "What?"

Eames, still as the vice president, shifted his weight onto one hip, "There is still time left in my dream. My subconscious is not particularly happy with you still, Aleks. We must use this machine to wake ourselves up before the time is up."

Ariadne and Arthur looked impressed while Cobb nodded, going along with the new plan. Estelle smiled to herself and saw her hand beginning to shake. The projection of Yolena was becoming unstable. It was difficult to create a projection that everyone could see and not just the target to be deceived.

Eames looked at Estelle and saw Yolena begin to flicker. He clapped his hands, "So, what do you say? Let's wake ourselves up, eh?"

Arthur tried to ignore how uncharacteristically english the vice president sounded and produced a PASIV machine from the closet in the room. He set it up and everyone laid down. Bartrev was still under the ruse that the machine would take them back to reality. Now, he was going to _really_ think that the third level was real.

"Ready?" Arthur asked.

Everyone nodded and he pushed the button. He watched them all go under and prayed that nothing happened to Estelle this time, especially because he wouldn't be there. He looked to the sleeping englishwoman and grabbed his gun. He kept it close to him and watched the door. Nobody was going to harm his friends, his _family_.

A few moments later her saw Estelle's body spasm and his stomach dropped. His eyes widened and he felt vomit build up in his throat.

"Not again."


	27. Chapter 27

The amount of apologies that I could spill out would be endless. I will just say that my writer's block has been squished and I now know how I'm getting to what I planned for the ending. I'm very sorry to leave you all waiting but you've been amazing! Thank you to all the new reviewers and readers who have added me to their favorites list! Much love! Here is Chapter Twenty-seven :] Enjoy!

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Eames spit out snow and groaned. "Why? Why did there have to be snow again? Huh?"

Estelle pulled herself up into a sitting position, "Quit complaining, you big baby."

Eames looked down at her, "Excuse me, love? Me? A baby?"

She nodded and held up two fingers, showing a slim margin, "Only a little bit."

"You're lucky I love you so much, sweetheart."

Estelle smiled softly and bit her lip, "I love you too."

He smiled too, "I like saying that again."

He helped her up and she kept a hold of his hands. He let go and wrapped his arms around her. She touched her nose to his and they both smiled.

"I like hearing it," she told him.

Cobb cleared his throat and they both turned around.

"Yes?" Eames said cheekily.

"Funny," Cobb said, "Can we continue?"

Estelle smiled, "Yes, _dear_."

Ariadne came up to Estelle, "I like spunky you better than sad you."

The Deceiver smiled down at the Architect, "Me too."

"Where are we going?" Eames asked.

Cobb nodded his head towards the vast, beautiful city in the distance.

"Moscow."

"Oh," Eames stated, "It looks a bit different."

The city was glowing, but not from lights. It was on fire. There were explosions going off everywhere and the faint sound of numerous sirens sounding around the buildings. Screams and shouts and glass breaking served as the undertone.

Ariadne swallowed, "That's because it's going to be hit with a nuclear bomb."

Estelle dropped Eames's hand, her own going limp by her side, "What."

"Ariadne," Cobb said, "What are you talking about?"

The young Architect shifted nervously, "Didn't you see the look on his face? Bartrev is going to go _right_ back to how he was before this whole thing started. He's not changed. He just wants to wake up," she explained, "I...I figured that...this might be the extra push he needs."

Estelle's nostrils flared slightly, "By figuratively destroying a civilization?"

"Ariadne," Cobb said with a hard face, "He _would_ have believed us!"

"No he wouldn't have!" Her voice rose higher, "He would just _kill_ his Vice President and get a new one! He has no remorse, Cobb. We would fail without doing something this drastic."

"Right," Estelle said through tight lips, "When is this explosion due to happen?"

"Whenever you make it," Ariadne replied.

Eames blinked, hard, "Excuse me?"

Ariadne gave him a confused look, "Estelle can just create the explosion herself," she turned to the englishwoman, "Can't you?"

"I'd have to kill myself," she said softly.

"WHAT." Ariadne looked like she had just been smacked in the face.

"Yes," Estelle rubbed her arms, "I can't project that much power and destruction without _actually_ being close to it, or in the middle of it. The fallout would...it would kill me."

"And because we're _three levels deep_," Eames all but snarled.

"You'd be stuck in limbo forever," Ariadne finished quietly, "I'm so sorry. I- I didn't know."

"It's...it's alright, dear. You couldn't have known unless I had told you. It's my fault."

Eames quickly placed a hand on her shoulders, "Don't you say that."

She turned to him sadly, "I guess we're not getting our future after all."

Cobb's jaw slackened, "You're actually going through with this?"

Estelle shook off Eames's hand and tried desperately to ignore the hurt, devastated look on his face before replying to Cobb, "Dom, think about it. Ariadne's right. He needs an extra push. All we've done so far is show him using pictures and taunting. We need to _physically_ put him through it."

"Won't he die too?"

Estelle shook her head, "I'll time it right when the kick happens. He'll feel everything, but he won't die."

"Why won't the kick work on you?" Ariadne's voice was shaking.

"By the time the explosion reverts back into me, I'll already be in limbo. I'll have missed the kick because I'd _be_ the kick. I can't do both at the same time," Estelle said sadly.

Eames looked at her, looking about ready to throw himself off the snowy hill they were standing on.

"Estelle..." was all he could say.

"We can...try to get you out," Cobb said, "I'll go in with you."

"No," Estelle held a hand up, "You need to be with James and Phillipa. I'll be...I'll be fine. I'll wake up eventually, right?"

"Stell," Cobb shook his head, "Your brain will be fried. You'll be in a vegetable state forever. You could...you could end up like Mal."

She placed a hand on her stomach, looking down and caressing in slightly as if remembering her little girl inside.

"I have to do it," she said finally, "Or else the whole _real_ world is going to be blown to bits. Then I'll lose all of you."

Eames let out a very gruff whimper, "I'm going to lose you again."

"You'll never lose me," she told him quietly.

Ariadne's eyes leaked a stream of tears, "I'm so sorry."

Estelle pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head, "You have been the most wonderful friend. I love you very much, Ariadne," she grabbed her by the shoulders, "You are a _brilliant_ young woman and I can see every bit of what I used to be inside of you. None of this is your fault. Don't be sorry."

"You can't go," she choked out.

Estelle cracked a tiny smile, but it was one of fright, Eames could tell, "Sometimes when you save the world, you can't save everybody in it."

Ariadne let out one small sob before pulling away and walking down the hill. "Let's go," she called feebly over her shoulder.

Cobb figured this was her way of trying to stay strong and nodded, saying quietly, "Okay."

Eames and Estelle walked behind Cobb and Ariadne on the trek down to Moscow. There was an unbelievable tension between them. Eames felt like his heart was twisted, like someone was digging their nails into him and pulling every which way. He was going to lose the love of his life all over again.

"I can't say goodbye to you."

Estelle looked over, "Then don't."

He stared forward, "I love you."

"I love you too."

As far as either of them were concerned, that _was_ goodbye.


	28. Chapter 28

I have a feeling a lot of you will hate me for this chapter. Special thanks to **Jazzy'sgirl112108** for the absolutely lovely review :] Enjoy chapter Twenty-eight, everyone!

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The group dodged flaming bottles and gunfire on their way to the President's safe house. People were running all over the place, screaming, flailing, bleeding. It was pandemonium.

"Isn't this enough of a wake up call for the bloke?" Eames asked, his voice gaining a new thicker edge to it. He was dreading every passing second. It brought him further to losing his lover.

Ariadne seemed like she was on the verge of tears, "I don't think so."

She pointed to the window where an annoyed Bartrev was looking out. He rolled his eyes at the chaos and drew the curtains closed. The team shared a defeated look as they approached the building.

"Get him out," Estelle ordered, trying to sound strong, "I'll canvas the area to find a suitable place to uh...detonate."

No one found her humor uplifting.

"I'm staying." Eames said, point blank, no arguments.

Estelle's voice was at a whisper, "It would be easier if you didn't."

They stared at each other for a long while until the sirens and screams and shattering of glass was no longer drowned out by their unbridled emotions for each other. Eames's jaw quivered ever so slightly as Estelle cringed and closed her eyes. He backed away.

"We'll come back and find you," Cobb said quietly.

Estelle only nodded before turning away and running down the street.

Eames's face hardened, "Let's go."

Ariadne went to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder but thought better of it and pulled it back. After all, this was her entire fault.

They found him in one of the many rooms of the big building. His subconscious was distracted by the chaos caused by the subliminal mention of a nuclear bomb so there were no guards in sight. Eames ripped open the door.

Aleksander turned around, "Not _you_ again."

The englishman grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, "Yes, _me_ again."

The President's voice came out strangled, "What are you doing here?"

"You're an asshole who doesn't give a damn about anybody but himself!" Ariadne screamed, verging on hysteria and swaying back and forth.

"I beg your pardon?" He rasped out. Eames was slowly cutting off his air supply by gripping his jacket around him.

"You were lying when you said all of those things to your sister," Cobb said icily, "You never intended to keep your promise."

He managed somewhat of a shrug, "It was just a dream."

Eames turned to his friends, "Can we just kill him now and send him into limbo forever?"

They both shook their heads.

Aleksander smirked, "Go ahead. Kill me. See what happens when you do."

"Don't. Tempt. Me." Eames growled out, his teeth gritted and knuckles white from grasping so hard. He shoved Aleksander backwards so forcefully that he toppled over onto the floor.

"You can't do this, "Ariadne's voice broke, "You'll be killing everyone. _Everyone_."

Again, he shrugged his shoulders, "They do not give me the respect I deserve."

Eames rounded on him, fury in his eyes, "BECAUSE YOU DON'T DESERVE ANY!"

The entire room fell silent as he continued ranting and raving, "You are a sick, pathetic, and vile little man! You don't care about anybody but yourself. You are a _rotten_ President and you're costing me the most precious thing that I have ever had in my life. I blame _you_. I blame you so much that it hurts."

Aleksander stared at him.

"The love of my life - _love. of. my. life._ is sacrificing herself so that you can _fucking_ see that you're mental - you're _insane_. She's killing herself and I will _never_ get her back. I'll never hold her, kiss her, have the family that I've always wanted with her," his voice was so dangerously low, "I will _never_ be with the one person that makes me happy. And it is all because of _you_."

Eames screaming at someone is pretty intimidating but Eames screaming at someone with all of the heartbreak, pain, and sadness in the world laced in his voice is ten thousand times worse. Aleksander felt like his own heart had just shattered into a million pieces, just by the force of his words.

"Respect..." was all he could mumbled out.

"You foul, undeserving creature," Eames spat out, "You are not _worthy_ enough for her to sacrifice herself for you. I'm losing everything, _again_, because you are a big fucking baby," he laughed bitterly, "You are a joke."

Aleksander felt like a child being screamed at. He was still on the floor, looking up at this tall, built, deep voiced man who was yelling mercilessly at him. His elbows quivered under the gravity of Eames's words.

"We're not your friends," Ariadne said, "We're not _helping_ you. We're trying to save the world from you, you bastard. You awful, deceitful, lying son of a bitch."

Cobb started in, "You're taking away a beautiful person. You're killing her by being so indifferent, so hard headed. She is wonderful, loyal, passionate; everything that you're not," he shook his head with a scowl on his face, "She loved so much more than you could _ever_. She loved so much, that's she's killing herself just to make you see. She's the only person here who hasn't given up hope on you."

Aleksander fell back onto his elbows after they had finally given out. They were telling the truth - the raw, horrifying truth. He looked into all of their eyes and a burst went off in his stomach, then his heart, then in his mind. He was a monster and everyone hated him.

He saw the victims of nuclear fallout, the mushroom clouds, the devastation, Yolena, her baby, his Vice President, his brother, the beautiful woman from the courthouse killing herself just to save him and make him see.

He let out a pained, dry, sob, and looked up, "You should save her."

Eames didn't need to be told twice as he rushed out the door. Cobb yanked Aleksander up and the two, along with Ariadne, quickly followed suit.

Eames was running down the street madly, feeling like how he felt when they had first gone under and he had sprinted towards the hospital. He found Estelle in the middle of a town square and bile rose to his throat.

She was standing alone in the center, her entire body giving off a painfully bright glow. The stress of containing the nuclear blast within her was searing across her face and rippling down her body. She saw the group and tears dripped down her face.

"Stay back!" Her voice was strained, "I don't know how much longer I can hold this back."

"I thought she just... _deceived_ people with these things!" Ariadne screeched out.

"For the entire civilization to see it and _feel_ it," Cobb explained, "She needs to make it real."

"Oh God," Ariadne dropped to her knees and sobbed.

"Estelle! Estelle!" Eames was yelling and on the verge of tears, "_Please_! PLEASE."

Aleksander yelled out, "Do not do this! I understand! I see!"

Estelle shook her head, the tears pouring out, "You're too late. I can't stop it now."

"No," Eames said to himself, "No! No, no, no! ESTELLE!"

She held up a hand, her fingers spread apart and a faint smile on her face. Eames reached his out towards her, over a hundred feet away, and let the tears slowly trickle down. He didn't care. It was all over now. French music started playing and Cobb shook his head madly, his brow creasing as his eyes watered. Ariadne sobbed harder and Eames felt catatonic.

"I love you," she said.

And then she exploded.

The force was so awful, the pain so intense, that Ariadne wished she could just die right then and there. She felt and _saw_ the skin ripping from her bones as the radiation and blast tore through her. She flew backwards, hearing Estelle's awful screams, before waking up in the safe room in Prague just briefly.

For the split second that their eyes opened, Ariadne met Arthur's and saw the tears streaming down from them. He knew. Estelle didn't wake up and the room exploded a second time.

They woke up in the van just as it was about to crash into the pavement from off of the overpass. Yusuf looked back and saw the sheer terror and sadness on his friends' faces. Estelle didn't wake up and the van hit the concrete.

They all woke up for real in Yolena's living room. Ariadne sat up slowly, afraid of the reality of the situation. She could already hear sobs coming from somewhere near her. Her eyes focused and she really wished the nuclear explosion had killed her.

Eames was rocking Estelle's limp and lifeless body in his arms, his face buried in her hair but his shoulders shaking and convulsing so much that everybody knew where the sobs were coming from.

Arthur covered his mouth, willing the vomit back down at the sight of his best friend pretty much dead. His breathing became ragged and Ariadne pulled him to her as he let out a gut wrenching sob. Nobody even cared that they were grown men, not when Estelle was gone.

Ariadne chanced a glance at Cobb and saw him up next to Eames, holding Estelle's hand in his just barely. He couldn't grip anything. Her fingers loosely hung around his as he just stared at Eames still rocking her and crying. Mal never once entered his mind as he watched his best friend stay asleep.

Eames pulled away and pushed the hair back from Estelle's face. His own face was covered in red blotches and salty tears. His breathing was ragged and there was a tightening in his chest that threatened to pulverize his already shattered heart. He had lost her twice.

He looked at his friends, the pain in his eyes so unbearable that Ariadne let out a cross between a scream and a sob. Eames's gripped tightened on Estelle's body as his bottom lip quivered and he looked over at Cobb. Very quietly, almost unable to be heard, he spoke.

"I didn't even get to kiss her goodbye."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-nine, everybody! I'm very sad to say that the next chapter will be the last :[ Thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed this story and/or added this story/me to their favorite stories/authors. You have all truly been wonderful and I'm glad you've stuck around with Eames and Estelle until the end! Until Chapter thirty, enjoy this one :]

* * *

Estelle woke up with a pounding headache. She felt cold and so very alone. Wearily, she opened her eyes and blinked to regain her vision. Her entire body felt like it had exploded. _Oh wait..._

"Mmmmfff," she moaned out, holding her head and sitting up.

The memories of what had happened on level three of the dream had slammed into hard. Tears sprung to her eyes as she remembered what she had done.

"Greg..." she whimpered out.

She looked around weakly, ready to commit herself to a lifetime or two of being alone in limbo, slowly going insane. The first thing she noticed was the couch she was lying on. It was the same couch she had helped Mal pick out when they were furnishing her and Dom's house. Looking around more, she noticed that she _was_ in Mal and Dom's house.

"What in the world...?" She sat up fully and eventually brought herself to a standing position. Clanking from the kitchen peaked her interest and she swiftly and quietly moved towards it. The noise stopped and a figure stepped out into the open dining room. Estelle stopped dead in her tracks and imagined she looked pretty silly, slinking around the house in broad daylight and wearing a full on snow outfit. She quickly looked down and realized she was dressed in jeans and a brown blouse, _not_ a puffy jacket and boots.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

Estelle's head snapped up at the familiar voice and she gasped, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. At the same time, tears sprang to her eyes for the second time in less than five minutes. She had forgotten how much she had missed that voice, that person.

"Mal?" She was still looking for anything blunt she could throw. "What...wha?" She finished lamely.

Mal smiled and continued drying the dish that was in her hands. She was just as radiant as before, her smile glowing and the light of her personality shining all around.

"Don't worry, Stelly," she set down the dish, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Is that what you said all those times before? To Dom?" Estelle replied bitterly.

Pain flashed across Mal's eyes at the mention of her husband, "This is different."

"How? Mal, you sabotaged every job he did. You tried to _kill_ Ariadne. You were so...awful."

Mal hugged her arms around herself, "That was a different me."

Estelle blinked, "Explain."

Mal gestured to the seats of her dining table and sat down in one. Estelle hesitated for a moment before giving in and taking the one farthest from Mal. It was weird, sitting down with the best friend that she had lost years ago.

"Um," Mal looked around and fiddled with her fingers, "Dom...how is he?"

"Better," Estelle said truthfully. "Now, are you going to tell me why you aren't an evil vindictive bitch now?"

Mal winced, "Because you see me differently than Dom did."

"What?"

Mal pursed her lips and sighed, "I manifest for you differently than I do Dom. His projection of me was...the last thing he remembered me doing was jumping off of a building. I was insane. You...you keep me in your mind as your best friend, your sister. You remember the good times and as a result, I am here in peace. When Dom thought of me..."

"You came bearing pain," Estelle understood. "So, you're not the same Mal that did all of those things to Dom?"

"Yes and no," she continued, "All manifestations come from the same source. They're one of a kind, but they can come in different forms _of_ that kind. Understand?"

"I think so," Estelle looked around. "Is this...are you stuck here?"

Mal looked longingly at the pictures of her and Dom around the house, "Yes."

Estelle gulped and looked at her sadly, "Forever?"

"At least I won't age," Mal said tiredly, trying to smile.

"But you'll go insane."

"Honey," Mal reached over and covered Estelle's hand with hers, "I'm a projection. I'm stuck in the limbo of _your_ mind forever. The real me already went insane. I have...there is..."

"What is it, Mally?" Using the old nickname brought a bought of nostalgia to Estelle.

The other woman sighed, "I would like to show you something."

They walked outside and Estelle noticed plain white space. It was beautiful, breezy but warm, vastly big but comfortingly small, perfect.

"What...where are we?" Estelle wondered.

"We are in your mind, like I said," Mal informed her. "We are deep down in your

subconscious, where you meditate."

"How come I don't get stuck here forever when I meditate then?"

Mal raised an eyebrow, "Because you don't _die_ every time you meditate."

"Oh," was all Estelle could say.

They walked until an apartment door showed up out of nowhere. The familiarity of the numbers pulled at Estelle's heartstrings and Mal gave her a sad smile.

"Come on," she beckoned. "There's something you need to see."

Mal opened the door and revealed the inside, "Don't go in. It'll mess up your subconscious. You can see from here."

Estelle peered in the door and saw what she had been dreaming of ever since first meeting Eames. There they were, the two of them, standing together in the living room and laughing. Eames held a little girl in his arms and he was swinging her around. She was no older than two, with Eames's sandy brown hair in little pig tails and Estelle's big green eyes. She was beautiful.

There were toys littered all over the floor and Estelle watched herself extend her arms out.

"Want to come to Mommy?" She asked the little girl.

The real Estelle watched as Eames smirked, "You're boring though."

"Oh, you're going to get it!"

Fake Estelle chased Eames around the house as he quickly maneuvered their little girl onto his shoulders. She squealed in delight as Estelle went after the both of them, all three of them laughing.

The real Estelle turned to Mal, "That's...?"

"Your life," Mal told her, "the life that you always wanted with him."

"But could never have." Estelle rubbed her flat stomach with sadness.

"I'm...I'm so sorry," Mal started.

Estelle held up a hand, "I forgave you a long time ago, Mally."

She watched as a single tear trailed down Mal's cheek, "Thank you."

"So," Estelle pointed to the door, "You...see them often?"

"Every day," Mal smiled, "It makes being here bearable."

"Why can't you see Dom?"

"Because you didn't _put_ him here," Mal explained. "I am down here with all of the thoughts that you keep locked away. All of your hopes and dreams. Some things are down here that I don't even think you are consciously aware of."

Estelle stared out at the white space in front of her, "Am I...going to be stuck here forever?"

Mal looked at her sternly, "Not if I can help it."

"Mal," Estelle let out a defeated laugh. "This is _limbo_. You can't just wake up. There are no kicks here. I'm too far down," she looked at the ground, "My brain will be mush by the time I go back to him."

"No," Mal said firmly. "There is so no way I am going to let my best friend end up like me."

Estelle looked at her with curious, hopeful eyes.

"I made a bad choice," Mal said quietly. "I caused a lot of pain and sadness by not believing everybody. I gave up on everyone I loved. The _least_ I can do is make sure that you get the happily ever after you deserve."

Estelle lunged forward and hugged Mal. It felt so good to hug her best friend again, to hug her sister again.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Mal smiled. "Now, let's get you to a cliff."

They walked until Mal pulled her back. Estelle looked down and saw her foot dangling off the ledge of a _very_ high cliff. She didn't know how high because a white mist covered the bottom starting at five feet below the drop, but she knew that it was a _really_ long drop. Everything was white still. She felt like she was in the common description of Heaven. Then she thought about Eames and realized she wasn't, she wasn't in Heaven at all.

She turned to Mal, "Are you sure this is going to work?"

Mal smiled sadly, "Yes."

"You," Estelle choked up, "You're saving my life."

"What are best friends for?" Mal shrugged with the same sad smile.

Estelle sniffled, "I'll...I'm going to miss you." And she would. Even if she had only _just_ gotten her back. She didn't want to say goodbye so soon.

"You could always stay," Mal offered.

"I have to..." Estelle shook her head, "I need to go back. To them...to him."

Mal nodded, "Good choice."

"I love you, Mally."

"I love you too, Stelly."

Estelle looked around one last time before settling her eyes on her beautiful best friend, "Will I ever see you again?"

Mal smirked, "In your dreams."

And then she pushed her off the cliff.

Estelle's body crashed to the bottom and she sucked in air, jolting awake in the middle of the square in the devastated Moscow. She managed to see Mal in front of her with a shotgun before she shot her, sending her up to the meeting house in Prague. Mal flashed in front of her and threw a bucket of ice cold water at her. When Estelle blinked she was gasping for air in the back of the van, her friends missing. Mal turned around in the driver's seat and winked before turning the steering wheel hard and crashing them into the side of a building.

Estelle gasped and shot straight up, her breathing ragged and her heart racing. She noticed she was in someone's arms in Yolena's house on the floor. She turned and stared into the eyes of everything she ever wanted.

"Estelle?"

She smiled, "Eames."


	30. Chapter 30

This is it! The end of **Deception**. Thank you all so very much for sticking around until the end and leaving the most wonderful reviews! It all means the world to me! Thank you to every single person who added this story to his/her favorites list along with adding me to his/her favorite author list! That makes me smile :] I'm really sad this is ending but i believe that I ended it in a good place. I hope you all aren't mad at me for the last line! It's an Inception fic, what else did you expect? :P So much love to everyone! Enjoy the final installment of **Deception **:]

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Eames led Estelle through the familiar door of their old apartment.

"I still can't believe you've kept it all this time," he had remarked.

"I had enough money," she had shrugged. "I just couldn't let go of it. I was hoping one day to have it all back."

Eames had hugged her close, "Well, now you can."

Estelle smiled as she remembered the pure joy that was on Eames's face when she had woken up in his arms. He had crushed her against his body as they both sobbed and held onto each other. Arthur had let out a low, choked scream as he pounced on the two, followed quickly by Ariadne who by that time was laughing so happily that she could have burst. Cobb gripped her hand so tight that Estelle thought it would fall off. He wouldn't let go and was beaming a thousand watt smile. It all reminded Estelle vaguely of when Eames had proposed to her way back when.

She tried to explain what had happened, but she didn't want to bring up Mal. All she had said was that she had found a really high cliff and jumped. They were all too happy to have questioned her about it at all.

When Estelle, Eames, Cobb, and Yusuf saw Ariadne and Arthur off at the airport, the young Architect had latched onto the Deceiver fiercely.

"I'll miss you," Ariadne had said.

Estelle had placed another delicate kiss to the top of her head, "I'll see you again, yeah? You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Good," Ariadne had smiled. "Because you're like...the sister I've always wanted."

Estelle had smiled widely at that, "As you are to me, dear."

Arthur had stepped up and hugged Estelle tight, "_Don't_ blow yourself up before Christmas, you hear me?"

"Not that I was planning to, but why do I have to wait until _after_ Christmas?"

Arthur smirked over at Eames, "Because this year's Christmas is going to be at _your_ house."

Eames groaned, "Wonderful."

Arthur clapped him on the back. "Don't look so glum, darling," he had said in his best British accent, which wasn't very good at all.

They both disappeared into the security line and Eames turned to his beautiful Estelle, "I hate him."

"You love him," she had smirked.

They saw Yusuf off next and Estelle had told him that if he didn't keep in touch she would invade his dreams and make him see awful, dreadful things. Yusuf had gulped and quickly assured her that he would call her _every _day if that was what she wanted. Eames chuckled and waved him off.

Cobb was returning home to James and Phillipa, making Estelle and Eames promise to come visit. Estelle said that they already would be doing so even if he hadn't told them.

"I'm glad you're okay," Cobb had said. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you hadn't been."

"You and me both," Eames had nodded.

Cobb gave them a parting smile and turned to go through security. Eames and Estelle walked hand in hand back to their car. Estelle thought she had heard Mal's voice calling out to her, but when she turned around, nobody was there. She shrugged, not caring, and focused all of her attention to the man holding her hand and smiling down at her with such love in his eyes that her heartbeat quickened.

After three years, three long years of waiting to be with him again, she could finally stop. No more waiting. Her dreams had come true.

She played with Eames's fingers as she watched him smile fondly at all the rooms as they walked through the empty apartment. They stood in the living room, facing each other and smiling dopily.

"I thought I'd lost you," Eames said, pressing his forehead to hers.

"I thought I was lost too," Estelle gave a watery chuckle, her eyes already tearing up. "After all we've been through..."

"And you go and blow yourself up."

They both laughed and Eames pulled her closer, "But seriously...don't _ever_ do that again."

"Don't worry," Estelle assured him, "It's not something high on my list of pleasant feelings."

He smiled at her fondly for a moment before whispering, "God, I love you, Estelle."

"I love you too," she stared into his eyes. "I always will."

Finally, after three long years, Eames swooped down and captured her lips in his. Estelle felt like she was exploding all over again, but in a so very wonderful way. It was beautiful, just as she remembered, and fueled with so much love and passion. They pulled away, grinning and softly laughing.

"I have waited so long to do that," Eames said.

"You've had plenty of chances," Estelle smirked.

"Oh yeah," Eames scoffed at that. "You would have shot me point blank if I had tried that back at the warehouse."

She shrugged her shoulders, "You never know."

He kissed her again, cutting off her train of thought, "Cheeky."

She smiled at him, dazed, "I fell in love with you, didn't I? You're just as bad."

"Hmmm, I suppose," he nuzzled her nose with his. "You'll just have to live with it, love."

"Now that," she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and drew him in closer, "I don't mind one bit."

"I hope this isn't a dream," Eames said as he picked her up and swung her around. She laughed merrily and wrapped her legs around him.

"If it is, then I don't _ever_ want to wake up," Estelle said dreamily.

She took out her bouncy ball and held it in her hands.

Eames looked around, "You know what room we _haven't_ looked at yet?"

She was still fingering the small purple ball, "Which one?"

He smiled coyly at her before walking away with her in his arms down the hallway, "The bedroom."

She slapped his shoulder, "There's no furniture, Greg!"

He shrugged with her still in her arms and kicked the bedroom door open, "Never stopped us before."

"No," she smiled suggestively, "It didn't."

He looked at her with a fire burning in his eyes, "I love you, Estelle."

"I love you too, Greg."

He set her down and she let go of the bouncy ball. It went bouncing away from her and down the hallway. She looked to see what happened but Eames closed the door before she could. With her totem forgotten about, she let herself go into a world of pure bliss and the love of her life as the ball rolled out of sight.

She never saw what happened to it.


End file.
